{"id":2190,"date":"2026-10-06T09:03:47","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T04:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2190"},"modified":"2026-10-06T09:03:47","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T04:03:47","slug":"bestselling-british-novelist-jeffrey-archer-dies-aged-86","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2190","title":{"rendered":"Bestselling British novelist Jeffrey Archer dies aged 86"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Jeffrey Archer, the bestselling British novelist and former \u200bpolitician who was jailed for lying in a high-profile libel case, has died aged \u200c86, his publisher HarperCollins said on Monday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Archer sold over 300 million copies worldwide and was known for pacy thrillers like his 1976 debut Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less<\/em> and 1979\u2019s Kane & Abel<\/em>. His final novel, Adam and Eve<\/em>, is \u200bdue to be published on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Kate Elton, HarperCollins\u2019 UK CEO and Archer\u2019s editor, said in a \u200bstatement: \u201cWe\u2019re all devastated to have lost a writer who has brought joy to \u2060generations of readers \u2014 and a true friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Archer was also a prominent Conservative politician who briefly served as \u200ba lawmaker before becoming a senior party official under then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the mid-1980s.<\/p>\n

But he \u200bwas as well-known for his very public downfall.<\/p>\n

In 1987, Archer sued the Daily Star<\/em> tabloid for saying he had paid a woman for sex, winning a then-record \u00a3500,000 ($660,450) in damages.<\/p>\n

The case returned to the public eye when he was selected \u200bas the Conservative candidate to become London\u2019s first elected mayor in 1999.<\/p>\n

A former friend accused \u200bhim of lying, and Archer was eventually charged with perjury and perverting the course of justice, convicted and sentenced to \u200cfour \u2060years\u2019 imprisonment.<\/p>\n

He served two years, during which time he wrote A Prison Diary<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Trial of libel case<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The trial of Archer\u2019s libel case, which was heard in front of a jury, became notorious for the judge\u2019s summing up of evidence given by Archer\u2019s wife Mary.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember Mary Archer in the witness \u200bbox,\u201d the judge, Bernard \u200bCaulfield, told the jury.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour \u2060vision of her will probably never disappear. Has she elegance? Has she fragrance? Would she have, without the strain of this trial, radiance?\u201d<\/p>\n

And, of Archer, he \u200badded: \u201cIs he in need of cold, unloving, rubber-insulated sex in a seedy hotel?\u201d<\/p>\n

Archer\u2019s \u200breputation as \u2060one of the most colourful figures in British public life did no harm to his literary career.<\/p>\n

His books were sold in 119 countries, HarperCollins said. He spent a total of five-and-a-half years on the New \u2060York Times<\/em> \u200bbestseller lists.<\/p>\n

He was due to speak about his final novel \u200bthis weekend at the Cheltenham Literature Festival and had recently appeared on radio shows to promote the book.<\/p>\n

HarperCollins said he had \u200bdied suddenly and peacefully, \u201cbetween writing sessions\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jeffrey Archer, the bestselling British novelist and former \u200bpolitician who was jailed for lying in a high-profile libel case, has died aged \u200c86, his publisher HarperCollins said on Monday. Archer sold over 300 million copies worldwide and was known for pacy thrillers like his 1976 debut Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less and 1979\u2019s Kane & Abel. His final novel, Adam and Eve, is \u200bdue to be published on Tuesday. Kate Elton, HarperCollins\u2019 UK CEO and Archer\u2019s editor, said in a \u200bstatement: \u201cWe\u2019re all devastated to have lost…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2190\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}