Jeffrey Archer dies at 86, a day before final novel ‘Adam & Eve’ release
British author and former politician Jeffrey Archer died at home on Monday, aged 86, a day before Adam and Eve was released. His death came as his final novel closed a five-decade literary career that sold more than 300 million books.
- Oct 06, 2026,
- Updated Oct 06, 2026, 11:35 AM IST
British novelist and former politician Jeffrey Archer has died at the age of 86, a day before the release of his final novel, Adam & Eve.
Archer died “suddenly and peacefully at home” on Monday, according to a statement from his publisher HarperCollins. No cause of death was disclosed.
Adam & Eve, billed as Archer’s final novel, is being released today, October 6, a day after his death.
Archer was among Britain's best-known authors, selling more than 300 million books during a writing career that spanned five decades. He was also a former Conservative member of Parliament and later served in the House of Lords.
His publisher described him as the only author to have topped bestseller lists in fiction, short stories and non-fiction. His works included Kane & Abel, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, A Matter of Honour and The Fourth Estate.
Several of Archer's novels were adapted for the screen. His best-known screen adaptation was Kane & Abel, which was made into a 1985 television miniseries starring Peter Strauss as Abel Rosnovski and Sam Neill as William Lowell Kane.
Archer's political career included a stint as deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. His political career was later derailed by a criminal conviction. In 2001, he was found guilty of perjury after lying and attempting to establish a false alibi during a 1987 libel case involving The Daily Star. He was sentenced to prison.
Despite his political troubles, Archer continued to write prolifically. Adam & Eve now marks the end of a literary career that produced dozens of novels, short-story collections and non-fiction works.
His website had also said that Paramount was developing an adaptation of Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less to mark the novel's 50th anniversary in August 2026.