Reuters —
Jeffrey Archer, the best-selling British novelist and former politician who was jailed for lying in a high-profile libel case, has died at the age of 86, his publisher HarperCollins announced on Monday.
Archer has sold more than 300 million copies worldwide and was known for fast-paced thrillers such as his 1976 debut, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, and 1979’s Kane & Abel. His last novel, “Adam and Eve,” is scheduled to be published on Tuesday.
Kate Elton, UK CEO of HarperCollins and editor of Archer magazine, said in a statement: “We are all devastated by the loss of a writer who brought joy to generations of readers and a true friend.”
Mr Archer was also a prominent Conservative Party politician, briefly serving as an MP before joining the party’s leadership under then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the mid-1980s.
However, he was also known for falling down in public.
In 1987, Archer sued the Daily Star tabloid for paying women for sex and won a then-record 500,000 pounds ($660,450) in damages. The case came back to the public eye in 1999 when Mr Archer was elected as the Conservative candidate for London’s first mayoral election. A former friend accused Mr. Archer of lying, and Mr. Archer was eventually indicted, convicted, and sentenced to four years in prison for perjury and perverting the course of justice. He served two years in prison, during which time he wrote The Prison Diary.
Archer’s libel trial was heard in front of a jury and was notorious for the judge summarizing the evidence presented by Archer’s wife Mary.
“Remember Mary Archer in the witness box,” Judge Bernard Caulfield told the jury. “Your vision of her will probably never fade. Is there grace in her? Is there fragrance? Would she have had the glow without the strain of this ordeal?”
And about Archer, he added: “Does he need cold, loveless, rubbery sex in a seedy hotel?”
Archer’s reputation as one of the most colorful figures in British public life did not adversely affect his literary career. His books have been sold in 119 countries, according to HarperCollins. He spent a total of five and a half years on the New York Times bestseller list.
He is due to speak about his final novel at the Cheltenham Literary Festival this weekend and recently appeared on a radio program to promote the book.
HarperCollins said he died suddenly and peacefully “in between writing gigs.”
