Jack Higgins

Jack Higgins lived in Belfast till the age of twelve. Leaving school at fifteen, he spent three years with the Royal Horse Guards, serving on the East German border during the Cold War. His subsequent employment included occupations as diverse as circus roustabout, truck driver, clerk and, after taking an honours degree specializing in Psychology and Criminology, was a teacher and university lecturer.

His thirty-sixth novel, The Eagle Has Landed (1975), turned him into an international bestselling author, and his novels have since sold over 250 million copies and have been translated into sixty languages. In addition to The Eagle Has Landed, ten of them have been made into successful films. His more recent bestselling novels include A Devil is Waiting, The Death Trade, Rain on the Dead and The Midnight Bell, all of which were Sunday Times bestsellers.

In 1995 Jack Higgins was awarded an honorary doctorate by Leeds Metropolitan University. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an expert scuba diver and marksman. In 2014 he was awarded an honorary degree by the University of London. He died in 2022, at his home in Jersey, surrounded by his family.