Author and politician Jeffrey Archer dies suddenly aged 86 ‘between writing sessions’

Jeffrey Archer, whose final book will be released this month, was “between writing sessions” when he passed away “suddenly and peacefully at home”.

Jeffrey Archer has died aged 86.

The bestselling author and former Conservative politician – who sold over 300 million books across his five-decade writing career – passed away “suddenly and peacefully at home” on Monday (05.10.26), according to his publisher.

HarperCollins said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that HarperCollins announces that bestselling author Jeffrey Archer, Lord Archer of Weston-Super-Mare, died suddenly and peacefully at home today, aged 86, between writing sessions.

“Jeffrey Archer was one of the bestselling authors of the last half-century whose new book, Adam and Eve, which the author had always planned to be his final novel, is published globally by HarperCollins tomorrow, 6 October.”

They added that his career “is the stuff of publishing legend”, recalling how his first novel Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less – which was published in 1976 – sparked a career which saw him spend “a total of 14 years and five months on the Sunday Times bestseller lists and 5 [and a half] years on the New York Times bestseller lists”.

They continued: “His readers meant everything to him, and just yesterday he met and signed books for hundreds of fans at a sold out event at the Leicester Square Theatre in London.

“A member of the House of Lords for over a quarter of a century, the author is survived by his wife who he was infinitely proud of, Dame Mary Archer, their two sons, James and William, two granddaughters and three grandsons (one of whom just finished a school biography on him).

“They all celebrated Jeffrey and Mary’s 60th wedding anniversary this year with many friends at The Old Vicarage in Grantchester.

“The family have asked for privacy at this time, and to share how much he was loved and how proud they are of him.”

His final book, Adam and Eve, will be released this month.

Kate Elton, HarperCollins UK CEO and Archer’s editor, added: “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, and a true champion of the ‘team’ nature of great publishing.

“When he set out to write Adam and Eve he told me from the very beginning that it would be his final novel – he was so excited about the scale of it and told me that if he could pull it off it would equal anything he’d previously written, on which basis he couldn’t imagine embarking on any future novels.

“He did indeed pull it off – and he was utterly thrilled by the early reader reactions.”

Archer, a former Conservative MP, was made a life peer in 1992, but in 2001 he was imprisoned for lying and cheating in a 1987 libel case against the Daily Star newspaper, for which he had been awarded £500,000 in damages.

He was sentenced to four years in jail for perjury and perverting the course of justice, but was released in 2003 and remained in the House of Lords until his retirement in 2024.