Former politician Jeffrey Archer, who also carved out a career as a bestselling author, has “died suddenly” at the age of 86, his publishers announced on Monday evening
Jeffrey Archer has died aged 86(Image: PA)
Former politician Jeffrey Archer has died aged 86, his publisher said in a statement.
Archer, who was a Conservative MP for five years before serving as the party’s deputy chairman, died peacefully at his home between writing sessions on Monday, Harper Collins said.
He had a successful career as a novelist and was made a life peer in 1992. His political career was paused in 2001 with the disgrace of his being imprisoned for four years for perjury and perverting the course of justice.
An Old Bailey jury found that he had lied in a libel action he had brought against The Star newspaper 13 years earlier, in which he was awarded £500,000 damages. He was released early in 2003 and returned to the House of Lords until he retired in 2024.
Kate Elton, Harper Collins UK chief executive and Archer’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.”
Just days before his death, Archer spoke of plans to discuss his final novel Adam and Eve at a public appearance that was to take place this coming weekend.
He wrote on Instagram: “On Saturday 10th October at 7pm I will be discussing my final novel Adam & Eve at the Cheltenham Festival. I look forward to seeing many of you there.”
Born in London in 1940, Archer spent much of his childhood in Weston-super-Mare and attended the prestigious Wellington School after winning a scholarship. He later spent three years at Oxford before beginning his career in politics in the late 1960s.
He served as MP for Louth (Lincolnshire) from 1969 to 1974, but almost went bankrupt and did not stand for re-election. In 1979, he released the novel Kane and Abel and it went on to sell more than 30 million copies. He returned to politics in the mid-1980s and served as deputy chairman of the Conservative Party from 1985 until 1986.
Archer started up his career as a novelist in 1974 with the publication of Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, and he went on to pen a total of 42 books before his death. In terms of health, Archer was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013, and, just days before his death, he urged men to get themselves checked.
He told the BBC: “I’ve been very aware of how lucky I am. I say to anybody listening – go to your doctor and check your PSA [Prostate Specific Antigen]
“There are too many stupid men who say, ‘Oh no, I’m a macho guy, I don’t do that sort of thing, I won’t be checking my PSA’. Check your PSA.” When presenter Jon Kay asked how he was doing now, he insisted: “All fine, thank you!”
Tributes began to pour in for the author, with a shocked Gyles Brandreth writing on X: “I can’t believe that Jeffrey Archer – who was always so alive – is suddenly dead.
“We had a wonderful day together yesterday – as anyone who was there will tell you, he was in brilliant form on stage yesterday celebrating the publication of his 50th and final best-selling novel.”
Former Tory minister Nadhim Zahawi paid also tribute to Archer, writing on X: “Jeffrey Archer was a dear friend and an extraordinary human being. His gift for storytelling was matched by his wit, warmth and boundless energy. Life was never dull in Jeffrey’s company.
“Jeffrey, it was a privilege to call you my friend. You were one of a kind. May you rest in eternal peace.”
Archer is survived by his wife Mary, whom he met at university and married in 1966, and their two sons William and James. The couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary earlier this year.
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