Celebrated writer Jeffrey Archer’s death came just one day before the publication of his new and last novel, 'Adam and Eve', on Tuesday 6 October.
He was truly, a successful novelist, disgraced politician and convicted liar. Archer's reputation as one of the most colourful figures in British public life did no harm to his literary career.
His 'gift' for storytelling was matched by his wit and boundless energy.
His novel, published in 1984, 'First Among Equals', about a cutthroat competition to become Prime Minister, cemented Archer's position as one of Britain's best-selling and highest earning authors.
It's said, Margaret Thatcher was swayed by his extrovert personality.
Kate Elton, HarperCollins UK’s chief executive and Archer’s editor, said: “It has been one of the great privileges of my publishing life to have been Jeffrey Archer’s editor.
“He was the master storyteller and an editor’s dream – phenomenally hard-working, utterly committed to completing draft after draft to get every word as perfect as possible".
His first novel, 'Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less', was published in 1976, two years after bankruptcy marked the end of his time as a sitting MP.
Archer spent a total of 14 years and five months on the Sunday Times bestseller lists and over five years on the New York Times bestseller lists,
He sold 300 million books in 119 countries in 49 languages.
His 1979 novel 'Kane and Abel' remains among the best-selling books in the world, having sold more than 30 million copies to date.
This novel follows a unique storyline wherein in the story portrays parallel lives and bitter sixty-year rivalry of two powerful men born on the exact same day in 1906.
William Lowell Kane is born into immense wealth as the heir to a Boston banking fortune. Abel Rosnovski is born in extreme poverty in Poland, suffering great hardships before immigrating to America.
Their lives cross paths when Kane's bank mercilessly forecloses on a hotel friend who helped Abel, driving the man to suicide and igniting Abel's lifelong quest for revenge.
The novel's title and themes draw directly from the biblical story of Cain and Abel in the Book of Genesis. The ancient text talks about Adam and Eve's first two sons—Cain the farmer and Abel the shepherd.
Archer cast himself as a centrist in parliament, frequently rebelling against the right wing of the Conservative party, but his political career stalled when he became the victim of a fraudulent investment scheme, which left him almost half a million pounds in debt.
He said he would therefore not stand in the 1974 election “due to financial difficulties”.
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| Archer in 1960 |
Archer's academic career was undistinguished, and he left school with three O-levels. He did, however, embark on a fitness regime designed to improve his physique after his originally skinny frame led to taunts from fellow pupils.
After school, he drifted. There was a brief spell in the army and then a short course in physical education in America.
He got his chance to 'return' to politics in 1985, when Margaret Thatcher, impressed by his personality, gave him an unpaid job as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party with responsibility for fundraising.
His first novel was a direct effort to regain financial control – a move that paid off.
'Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less' was adapted for radio, and later, for TV. By the mid-1980s Archer had written several successful novels as well as short stories, plays and children’s books.
In 1992, he was offered a peerage by Conservative Prime Minister John Major in recognition for his work with a charity set up to help Kurds who were being oppressed by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
The former Conservative politician Archer was sentenced to four years in jail in 2001 for lying during a high-profile libel case.
Archer, who served as party chairman during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, was found guilty by the jury at the Old Bailey.
He was asked to pay £175,000 costs within 12 months.
ends
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