Lord Jeffrey Archer, the bestselling British novelist and former Conservative politician, has died aged 86.
Archer died “suddenly and peacefully” at his home, his publisher, HarperCollins, said on Monday. His final novel, Adam and Eve, is due to be published on Tuesday.
Archer served as a Conservative Member of Parliament for five years before becoming the party’s deputy chairman. He went on to build a highly successful career as a novelist, selling more than 300 million copies worldwide, and was made a life peer in 1992.
He served as a senior Conservative Party official under then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the mid-1980s. However, his political career was disrupted in 2001 when he was imprisoned for perjury and perverting the course of justice.
Archer was convicted after a jury found that he had lied during a libel case he brought against the Daily Star newspaper 13 years earlier. He had been awarded £500,000 in damages in the case.
He was released from prison in 2003 and later returned to the House of Lords, where he remained until retiring in 2024.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described Archer’s death as “a huge shock”, saying she was “incredibly saddened to hear this news”.
Badenoch said Archer had sent her “a lovely message” on Monday morning and had always been a source of personal encouragement.
HarperCollins said Archer had attended an event with fans in London on Sunday, where he promoted his final novel.
Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, who attended the event, said Archer had been “in the most wonderful, ebullient form” and received a strong reception from a packed audience.
Brandreth described Archer as “funny, engaging and self-deprecating” and “a great storyteller to the last”.
Former Conservative minister Nadhim Zahawi also paid tribute to Archer, describing him as “an extraordinary human being”.
Zahawi said Archer’s storytelling ability was matched by his wit, warmth and energy, adding that “life was never dull” in his company.
Kate Elton, Archer’s editor and chief executive of HarperCollins UK, described working with him as “one of the great privileges” of her publishing career.
Elton praised Archer as a “master storyteller” and said he was phenomenally hardworking and committed to perfecting his work through repeated drafts.
Archer’s death comes as his final novel, Adam and Eve, is set to be published, marking the conclusion of a literary career that spanned decades.
Boluwatife Enome
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