Jeffrey Archer, the former Conservative politician jailed for perjury who went on to write best-selling novels, has died suddenly at his home at the age of 86.
Archer, who spent time in prison for perjury, continued writing best-sellers while behind bars. He was released in 2003 and returned to the House of Lords, where he remained until his retirement in 2024.
Publisher confirms death
In a statement, Archer’s publisher HarperCollins said the author died “peacefully” on Monday. His last book, Adam and Eve, is set to be released this month, the publisher added, describing him as a “master storyteller” whose readers “meant everything to him”.
A publishing legacy
“Jeffrey’s career is the stuff of publishing legend”, the statement continued. “He spent a total of 14 years and five months on the Sunday Times bestseller lists and 5 ½ years on the New York Times bestseller lists, selling 300 million books in 119 countries in 49 languages.”
“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.”
