Jeffrey Archer, the bestselling British novelist and former politician, who died on October 5 at 86 years was probably the definition of passion and work.
Among other honours, his books sold more than 300 million copies and had been writing for 52 years having launched his writing career in 1974. Then, he was 34.
He remained active as a writer until the end of his life, working on what became his final novel, Adam and Eve, which was released shortly after his death.
But his life was far more dramatic than his novels that millions of book lovers read.
His combined political goals, financial difficulties, literary glory, scandal, a libel case, imprisonment and a remarkable return to writing. This revealed a focused artist who probably used some of his themes as a writer to bounce back against the storms of life.
Jeffrey Howard Archer was born in London on April 15, 1940. He eventually became one of Britain’s most commercially successful authors.
His breakthrough came with Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, which he wrote from 1974 during a period of serious financial difficulty. The book was published in 1976 and launched his writing career.
His biggest success came with Kane and Abel, published in 1979. It traces the contrasting lives of two men born on different sides of the world, became an international bestseller and is estimated to have sold about 34 million copies.
Some of his bestselling novels were First Among Equals, A Matter of Honour, The Fourth Estate and The Eleventh Commandment.
Archer developed a particularly strong readership in India, where his fast-moving stories, family rivalries, ambition, wealth and political intrigue attracted readers spread across generations.
His storytelling style relied heavily on suspense, but was known for his disciplined approach to writing.
According to different accounts, he rewrote manuscripts many times, sometimes producing as many as 17 versions before publishing.
Before becoming a novelist, he was in politics and got elected as the Conservative MP for Louth in Lincolnshire in 1969 at 29.
His was in Parliament up to 1974. He did not seek re-election after experiencing serious financial difficulties partly linked to the collapse of an investment scheme. He then turned his focus to writing, revamping his fortunes.
His books made him one of the world’s wealthiest successful writers.
He returned to politics, but that was hurt by allegations on his relationship with a sex worker. Archer denied the allegations and successfully sued the Daily Star for libel in 1987, winning substantial damages.
In the late 1990s, Jeffrey Archer had been selected as a Conservative candidate for the newly created position of Mayor of London but withdrew his candidacy after allegations surrounding his conduct became public.
In 2001, he was convicted of perjury and perverting the course of justice in a case related to evidence he gave during his earlier libel proceedings. He was sentenced to four years in prison.
Archer was released in 2003 after serving about half of his sentence. His experience in prison later provided material for A Prison Diary, a three-volume account of his time behind bars.
In 2025, while receiving an award from the India Global Forum, Archer spoke about working on Adam and Eve, which he described as a project he had been developing for several years.
He believed the novel could potentially surpass Kane and Abel.
Archer retired from the House of Lords in 2024 and spent his later years concentrating largely on writing.
Also Read: I’ve never experienced unemployment
