If you’ve ever heard the term “The Eagle Has Landed,” that’s thanks to Henry Patterson, who wrote a book with that title in 1975. The thriller follows the story of a Nazi plot to kidnap Winston Churchill during World War II. It was turned into a movie just a year later, which was directed by John Sturges and starring Robert Duvall, Donald Sutherland and Michael Caine.

Patterson, who wrote under his pen name of Jack Higgins, was a highly successful author, publishing 85 novels between 1959 and 2017, and selling more than 250 million books over his career.

Sadly, Patterson has recently passed away at the age of 92. His died at his home on the Channel Island of Jersey, England, and is survived by his four children from his first marriage, Sarah, Ruth, Sean, and Hannah, as well as his current wife, Denise.

Patterson’s first novel was called “Sad Wind from the Seam” which was published in 1959. The last book he wrote was called “The Midnight Bell,” and published in 2017. Just a few of his other successful novels include “Comes the Dark Stranger,: “Hell is Too Crowded” and “To Catch a King.”

“I’ve been a fan of Jack Higgins for longer than I can remember. He was a classic thriller writer: instinctive, tough, relentless,” said , HarperCollins chief executive Charlie Redmayne. “’The Eagle Has Landed and his other Liam Devlin books, his later Sean Dillon series, and so many others were and remain absolutely unputdownable. Being part of his publishing for even part of his career has been a privilege – his passing marks the end of an era.”

Jonathan Lloyd, his literary agent and president of Curtis Brown, also spoke highly of the author, especially his work on The Eagle has landed. “I had the privilege of being at Collins Publishers when we received the manuscript of The Eagle Has Landed,” he explained. “We all knew, with a rare certainty, that we would be publishing an instant classic.”

To learn more about Higgins, his career, and his death, check out the video below.

Our thoughts go out to his family and friends, and his legacy will live on in his writing!