Higgins, Jack

British/Irish – he had double citizenship – author and former teacher, born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He was christened Henry Patterson but was called, even by himself, Harry. He is, however, best known under the pseudonym Jack Higgins. When he was still a baby, his father left the family and his mother moved with her son to her own father in Belfast, where the boy attended Nettlefield Primary School. When he was twelve years old, his mother re-married, and the family settled in Leeds. He didn’t get on well with his stepfather, felt ill-at-ease and got poor grades at Roundhay Grammar School for Boys where he studied. He left school at 15 without passing a final exam.