Jeffrey Archer, the bestselling author and former Conservative politician, has died aged 86, his publisher HarperCollins said, noting that he passed away peacefully at home between writing sessions on Monday.
His death was announced on the eve of the release of Adam and Eve, which was published on Tuesday.
Archer had appeared at a sold-out event at Leicester Square Theatre in London on Sunday, where he signed books and spoke with broadcaster Gyles Brandreth.
Brandreth said Archer had been in “the most wonderful, ebullient form”, describing him as a great storyteller until the end.
Adam and Eve begins on Armistice Day in 1918 and follows two children born within hours of each other — a shepherd’s son and the daughter of an earl.
The novel becomes the final published work of an author whose career combined huge commercial success with one of the most dramatic political scandals in modern British public life.
Archer was elected as a Conservative MP and later became the party’s deputy chairman before being appointed to the House of Lords in 1992.
His political career was derailed after he was convicted in 2001 of perjury and perverting the course of justice over a libel case involving The Star newspaper.
He was sentenced to four years in prison and released in 2003, later returning to the House of Lords before retiring in 2024.
Despite the scandal, Archer remained one of Britain’s most commercially successful novelists. His best-known work, Kane and Abel, has sold more than 33 million copies worldwide.
Explaining his approach to writing, Archer once told Reuters: “No sex, no violence, no bad language.”
Kate Elton, HarperCollins UK chief executive and Archer’s editor, described him as “the master storyteller”, praising his painstaking approach to rewriting and polishing his work.
Former Conservative chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, now a Reform UK MP, also paid tribute to Archer, describing him as a dear friend and recalling his success as a charity auctioneer.
Archer and his wife, Mary, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year. They had two sons and five grandchildren.
There is also uncertainty over whether Archer completed another manuscript before his death. Although Brandreth said the author had regarded Adam and Eve as his final novel, Archer’s website said earlier this year that he was working on another project he could not yet discuss.
HarperCollins and his family have not confirmed whether the unfinished work exists.
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