British novelist Jeffrey Archer (86), who sold more than 300 million books worldwide whilst navigating a turbulent career in politics and the courts, has died at his London home.
Publisher HarperCollins confirmed Archer died suddenly and peacefully on Monday between writing sessions. His editor Kate Elton described him as a master storyteller and an editor’s dream.
The author was scheduled to appear at Cheltenham Literary Festival this week to discuss his final novel “Adam and Eve”, which publishes on Tuesday. Fans saw him signing books at a London event on Sunday, just one day before his death.
From parliament to prison
Archer became a Conservative MP at 29 in 1969 after winning a landslide by-election whilst still at Oxford University. His political career crashed five years later when a Canadian industrial cleaning company he invested in collapsed, leaving him nearly bankrupt.
He turned this disaster into literary gold, publishing his first novel “Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less” in 1975. Critics panned his work, but readers loved it. The books earned him a fortune and kept his political ambitions alive.
Prime minister Margaret Thatcher made him Conservative deputy chairman in 1985, calling him a model Tory high achiever. Just one year later, he resigned after admitting a lack of judgment when he sent £2 000 to prostitute Monica Coghlan. Archer claimed he only gave her the money to help her escape reporters.
The libel case that destroyed him
The Daily Star tabloid suggested Archer had slept with Coghlan. He sued for libel in 1987 and won £500 000 in damages. The judge famously praised Archer’s wife Mary for her fragrance during the trial.
John Major recommended Archer for a peerage in 1992, giving him a seat in the House of Lords. He launched a campaign in 1999 to become London’s first elected mayor, but months later a friend admitted providing Archer with a false alibi during the 1987 libel trial.
The Conservatives expelled him from the party. In 2001, a court found him guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice. He served two years of a four-year sentence before getting parole in 2003.
Life after scandal
Archer revealed in 2014 that doctors had diagnosed him with prostate cancer. He retired from the House of Lords in 2024.
His wife Mary, a scientist and now Chancellor of the University of Buckingham, stood by him through every scandal. She once said: “We’ve explored the further reaches of ‘for better and for worse’ than most couples.
