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Author James H Jackson dies aged 61 with memorial held
Thriller author James H Jackson has died at the age of 61, with a memorial held last month. He passed away on 18th October 2024, and a memorial was held for him on Monday (20th January). Around 250 people attended the service at St John’s Wood Church before moving to Lord’s Cricket Ground. During the service a tribute by Frederick Forsyth was read by Sir Derek Jacobi.
Jackson published his debut novel Dead Headers (Headline) in 1997, which was "a warning of the threat posed by mass terrorism that was startlingly prescient" at the time. He went on to write two further techno-thrillers, Cold Cut (Headline, 2000) and The Reaper (Headline, 2001). After these novels, he turned to his "greatest love" – history – when he wrote his first historical novel Pilgrim (John Murray Press), published in 2009 and acquired by Kate Parkin, which became a Sunday Times bestseller. He then wrote three further historical novels: Blood Rock (John Murray, 2010), Perdition (John Murray, 2012) and Treason (Bonnier, 2016) featuring hero, Christian Hardy. Frederick Forsyth wrote of Treason: "There is no-one today writing fictionalised history, backed by ferocious research, like James Jackson. With his latest, Treason, he has done it again and the reading lamp just burns through the night."
Jackson was born with an eye condition, retinitis pigmentosa, which eventually left him completely blind, and due to this "he threw himself into his studies". He gained several university degrees, was called to the Bar and built a career in political risk management. He drew on this expertise to write his thrillers.
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By the time Treason was released, he was almost completely blind, "but didn’t feel sorry for himself for a moment". He wrote in The Daily Mail in 2009: "Blindness is full of incident, colour, and absurdity – and it can enrich rather than diminish life in ways most people cannot imagine." He said his blindness taught him that there was a "clear benefit to having something to struggle and push against in life", adding that had it not been for his blindness, he never would have attempted to write fiction, or worked with Guy Ritchie on a screenplay – during which time he mistook Madonna for an assistant. He added: "A leap of faith is easier when you are accustomed to stepping into the unknown."
During the Covid pandemic, Jackson launched history podcast Bloody Violent History, with Tom Assheton, ex-soldier and grandson of Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris.
Agent Eugenie Furniss said: "I first met Jamie Jackson back in 1997 when I was an assistant to Stephanie Cabot at WME. He was one of her hottest authors, having just sold two thrillers at auction to Bill Massey at Headline, but there was no ego on Jamie. As was the case throughout his career, a phone call or a lunch was an opportunity to laugh and have fun, and he took a keen interest in everyone’s lives whether they were the chief of a publishing house or a lowly intern. I went on to represent Jamie myself and for the decades I worked with him, if I ever heard an assistant laughing uproariously, I didn’t have to ask who was on the other end of the phone.
"With his fearlessness, intelligence and humour, Jamie enriched all our lives beyond measure. He will be greatly missed."
