Bestselling novelist and former Conservative politician Jeffrey Archer has died at the age of 86. He passed away suddenly and peacefully on Monday (October 5) at his home between writing sessions, according to his publisher HarperCollins. Mr Archer was still working on new material when he died.
Political and literary tributes
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch led tributes, revealing she had received a message from him on the morning of his death, ahead of the party’s conference in Birmingham. Ms Badenoch said: “This is a huge shock. I am incredibly saddened to hear this news. He had sent me a lovely message just this morning and was always a great source of encouragement to me personally. I can’t believe he’s gone. He was a dear friend to so many of us and the Conservative family will be reeling at this news. Our thoughts are with Dame Mary and all their family at this time.”
Chief executive of HarperCollins UK and Mr Archer’s editor, Kate Elton, said: “It has been one of the great privileges of my publishing life to have been Jeffrey Archer’s editor. He was the master storyteller and an editor’s dream – phenomenally hard-working, utterly committed to completing draft after draft to get every word as perfect as possible, and a true champion of the ‘team’ nature of great publishing. When he set out to write Adam And Eve he told me from the very beginning that it would be his final novel – he was so excited about the scale of it and told me that if he could pull it off it would equal anything he’d previously written, on which basis he couldn’t imagine embarking on any future novels. He did indeed pull it off – and he was utterly thrilled by the early reader reactions. We’re all devastated to have lost a writer who has brought joy to generations of readers – and a true friend.”
From politics to prison
Mr Archer began his professional life in politics, serving as a Conservative MP for five years and later as deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. He was made a life peer in 1992 as Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare and was selected as the Conservative candidate for the first London mayoral election.
His political career came to a dramatic halt in 2001 when he was convicted of perjury and perverting the course of justice. Mr Archer was sentenced to four years in prison, having been found guilty of lying in a libel case against The Star newspaper 13 years earlier, for which he had been awarded £500,000 in damages.
A literary legacy
Despite his fall from political grace, Mr Archer found enduring success as a novelist. His debut, Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less, was published in 1976, and he made millions out of his best-selling novels. Arguably his most famous novel is Kane And Abel.
Just a day before his death, Mr Archer appeared at a sold-out event with broadcaster Gyles Brandreth at the Leicester Square Theatre in London. Mr Brandreth said: “Just yesterday I did a show with Jeffrey Archer to celebrate his new novel – he said it was to be his last. He was in the most wonderful, ebullient form and had such a great reception from a packed house. He was funny, engaging and self-deprecating – a great storyteller to the last.”
Mr Archer had been scheduled to appear at the Cheltenham Festival on Saturday (October 10) to discuss his final novel, Adam And Eve, which is due for release on Tuesday (October 6). Mr Archer and his wife Dame Mary Archer celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary earlier this year. The couple had two sons and five grandchildren.
