Jeffrey Archer, bestselling author of Kane and Abel and jailed former Tory MP, dies at 86

Jeffrey Archer, the British novelist whose books sold more than 300 million copies and whose political career ended in prison, has died aged 86. His publisher, HarperCollins, said he died “suddenly and peacefully at his home between writing sessions” on Monday, 5 October.

We’re all devastated to have lost a writer who has brought joy to generations of readers – and a true friend.

Kate Elton, chief executive of HarperCollins UK and Archer’s editor

The writer

Archer is best known for Kane and Abel (1979) and his 1976 debut, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less. According to HarperCollins, his books were sold in 119 countries and he spent a combined five and a half years on The New York Times bestseller lists.

His final novel, Adam and Eve, is being published on Tuesday, a day after his death. He had been due to discuss it at the Cheltenham Literature Festival this weekend.

The politician

Archer became a Conservative MP in 1969 and later served as the party’s deputy chairman under Margaret Thatcher. He was made a life peer in 1992.

In 2001 he was convicted of perjury and perverting the course of justice for lying in a libel case he had brought against the Daily Star newspaper years earlier, in which he had won £500,000 in damages. He was sentenced to four years in prison and released early in 2003. He wrote about the experience in A Prison Diary, returned to the House of Lords and retired from it in 2024.

Sources: The National, The Irish Times.