Bestselling author and former politician Jeffrey Archer has died at the age of 86. Archer sold more than 300 million books in his five-decade writing career, including the Clifton Chronicles and Kane and Abel, and often set the novels in his home town of Wellington, Somerset. In a statement, Archer’s publisher HarperCollins said the author died “suddenly and peacefully at home” on Monday between writing sessions. The former Conservative MP was jailed for perjury in 2001 after being found guilty of lying and cheating in his 1987 libel case against the Daily Star.
Jeffrey Archer obituary: successful novelist, disgraced politician and convicted liar Archer was born in north London on 15 April 1940 but would quickly move to Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, where his family bought a house from John Cleese’s mother. In 1969, Archer was elected MP for the Lincolnshire constituency of Louth. He served as an MP for five years before becoming Conservative Party deputy chairman. His political career was paused in 2001 when he was jailed for four years for perjury and perverting the course of justice.
He was found to have lied in libel action he had brought against The Star newspaper, in which he was awarded £500,000 in damages. He was released in 2003 and returned to the House of Lords until he retired in 2024. His last book, Adam and Eve, is set to be released this week, HarperCollins said, describing him as a “master storyteller” whose readers “meant everything to him”. The publisher added that the author had been at the Leicester Square Theatre in London on Sunday, signing books for fans with broadcaster Gyles Brandreth.
Writing on X, 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.” Last week, Archer also returned to his former school to promote his last book. “It’s wonderful to come back.
What I got a real thrill about when I was walking towards the library is seeing the young boys and girls and thinking, ‘that’s the next generation’,” Archer said at Wellington School. Archer was due to attend the Cheltenham Festival on Saturday to discuss his final novel. He and his wife Mary had celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year, HarperCollins said. The pair have two sons and five grandchildren.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch described Archer’s death as a “huge shock”. Writing on X, she said: “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.” Paying tribute to the bestselling author, Kate Elton, HarperCollins UK CEO and Jeffrey’s editor, 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.” Former Conservative chancellor Nadhim Zahawi paid tribute to the bestselling author on X, describing him as a “dear friend and extraordinary human being”.
He wrote: “His gift for storytelling was matched by his wit, warmth and boundless energy. Life was never dull in Jeffrey’s company.”
