{"id":2181031,"date":"2026-10-05T20:39:45","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T17:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2181031"},"modified":"2026-10-05T20:39:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T17:39:45","slug":"jeffrey-archer-obituary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2181031","title":{"rendered":"Jeffrey Archer obituary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/6cdc\/live\/20e80d70-c14c-11f1-bc2e-018d645d8d21.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 dYcznU\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 gvGaxq\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 jJQpIc\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/6cdc\/live\/20e80d70-c14c-11f1-bc2e-018d645d8d21.jpg.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"AFP via Getty Images Jeffrey Archer is photographed while making a speech\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><span class=\"Image-styles__CreditStyled-sc-8c99a12b-2 dVFjVB\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">As many have observed, Jeffrey Archer,who has died aged 86, led a life as colourful as the plot in one of his novels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">He was, at one time or other, a senior Conservative politician, a best-selling author, a peer of the realm, and a convicted perjurer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Possessed of huge drive, vast wealth and immense personal charm, Archer bounced back from disaster and, more than once, rebuilt a shattered life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">But for all his talents, he will be remembered as a man affected by a defective moral compass, whose public humiliation was entirely self-inflicted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 kugUwP\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 bOmCce\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/5c81\/live\/cafa9c40-d811-11ef-81ae-61b58e29362c.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Dave Benett Collection via Getty Images Lord and Lady Archer photographed in 2015. Lord Archer&apos;s arm is round his wife&apos;s shoulders.\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><span class=\"Image-styles__CreditStyled-sc-8c99a12b-2 dVFjVB\">Dave Benett Collection via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\"><figcaption class=\"Caption-styles__CaptionStyled-sc-70433723-0 fLsOPx\">Lord and Lady Archer photographed in 2015<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Jeffrey Howard Archer was born in north London on 15 April 1940. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Within two weeks, his parents moved to Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, where they bought a house from John Cleese&#8217;s mother.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Archer&#8217;s mother Lola was the first woman journalist on the weekly paper, the Weston Mercury.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">In later life, Archer insisted that his father William, who was some 40 years older than his mother, was a decorated hero of the First World War.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">In fact, he was a convicted fraudster who, according to a US newspaper, spent the war years conning people in New York.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 kugUwP\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 bOmCce\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/17cc\/live\/82e918e0-d812-11ef-81ae-61b58e29362c.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"PA Media Jeffrey Archer (wearing number 3) runs for Oxford University against Cambridge University at the White City stadium in London in 1964\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><span class=\"Image-styles__CreditStyled-sc-8c99a12b-2 dVFjVB\">PA Media<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\"><figcaption class=\"Caption-styles__CaptionStyled-sc-70433723-0 fLsOPx\">Jeffrey Archer (wearing number 3) runs for Oxford University against Cambridge University at the White City stadium in London in 1964<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">In 1951, the young Archer went to Wellington School on the edge of Exmoor. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Some people mistakenly assumed he had gone to the somewhat more prestigious Wellington College in Berkshire, and he did little to correct them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Archer&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">After school, he drifted. There was a brief spell in the army and then a short course in physical education in America.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">On his return, he spent five months as a probationary constable in the Metropolitan Police, before quitting to become a physical training instructor at a small prep school in Hampshire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 kugUwP\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 bOmCce\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/e8ae\/live\/42c37a20-d813-11ef-81ae-61b58e29362c.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Hulton Archive via Getty Images Jeffrey Archer photographed in 1966 with a photograph of his new wife, Mary, on his desk\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><span class=\"Image-styles__CreditStyled-sc-8c99a12b-2 dVFjVB\">Hulton Archive via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\"><figcaption class=\"Caption-styles__CaptionStyled-sc-70433723-0 fLsOPx\">Jeffrey Archer photographed in 1966 with a photograph of his new wife, Mary, on his desk<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">It was while holding a similar job at Dover College that his resume moved into the realms of fantasy. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">He styled himself Jeffrey Archer, FIFPC, BSc, leading people to assume he had obtained a degree during his time in the United States.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">In fact, as his unofficial biographer Michael Crick later discovered, Archer&#8217;s alma mater in the States was, in fact, a bodybuilding club.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">However, Dover College was so impressed, it backed Archer&#8217;s bid to go to Oxford as a mature student to do a one-year Diploma of Education course.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">At Oxford, he excelled in athletics, winning a Blue, although it was doubtful whether his course qualified him to be a bona fide member of the University.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 kugUwP\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 bOmCce\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/d606\/live\/47712360-273d-11ef-a0aa-318f04db7c53.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"PA Jeffrey Archer is photographed waving to the crowd having been elected for Louth in 1969\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><span class=\"Image-styles__CreditStyled-sc-8c99a12b-2 dVFjVB\">PA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\"><figcaption class=\"Caption-styles__CaptionStyled-sc-70433723-0 fLsOPx\">He was selected to fight Louth despite objections from Conservative leaders<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">More importantly, it brought him into contact with fellow students who would go on to hold senior positions in politics, finance and the media. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">He also married Mary Weeden, a chemistry student whose beauty had attracted a long list of suitors. &#8220;It was love at first sight for me,&#8221; the future novelist recalled, &#8220;but I don&#8217;t think it was for her.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">His public profile had been considerably raised when he managed to persuade The Beatles to come and support a \u00a3500,000 fundraising effort for Oxfam, a charity which Archer supported.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 kugUwP\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 bOmCce\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/b9db\/live\/6b0374b0-2745-11ef-81f8-2f03dcbc7025.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"PA A black and white photo of Jeffrey Archer and Margaret Thatcher at party conference.\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><span class=\"Image-styles__CreditStyled-sc-8c99a12b-2 dVFjVB\">PA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\"><figcaption class=\"Caption-styles__CaptionStyled-sc-70433723-0 fLsOPx\">Margaret Thatcher was swayed by his extrovert personality<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">After serving as a Conservative councillor in London, he was put on the selection list for the safe Tory seat of Louth in Lincolnshire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">A reporter on the Times, John Clare, discovered that another charity for which Archer worked alleged he had misused expenses with claims for meals at posh London restaurants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Clare buttonholed Archer and, according to his own account, the would-be candidate burst into tears and asked that the story be quashed. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">It eventually appeared in the paper but with many of the salient details left out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 kugUwP\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 bOmCce\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/ed6f\/live\/d4d609f0-d813-11ef-9c2b-f324606bf591.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Hulton Archive via Getty Images Threatened with bankruptcy after a disastrous investment, Jeffrey Archer was forced to resign his parliamentary seat in October 1974. He is photographed here alongside his wife, Mary.\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><span class=\"Image-styles__CreditStyled-sc-8c99a12b-2 dVFjVB\">Hulton Archive via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\"><figcaption class=\"Caption-styles__CaptionStyled-sc-70433723-0 fLsOPx\">Threatened with bankruptcy after a disastrous investment, Jeffrey Archer was forced to leave parliament in October 1974<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Concerns about Archer&#8217;s suitability were ignored by the party members in Louth who adopted him. In a by-election in December 1969, he won the seat with a handsome majority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">He and Mary set themselves up in an expensive Kensington house and he became a member of Lloyds. He also began to build up his profile in parliament where he was seen as a liberal member of his party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">But, in 1974, he suffered a blow after being persuaded to invest in a Canadian company which claimed to have developed a process to cut carbon emissions. It turned out to be a scam. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Archer had taken out a second mortgage, as well as borrowing large sums from elsewhere, to raise money for the investment. Threatened with bankruptcy, he was forced to quit his parliamentary seat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 kugUwP\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 bOmCce\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/5c22\/live\/5be67470-d814-11ef-9c2b-f324606bf591.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Fairfax Media Archives via Getty Images Jeffrey Archer holding up The Prodigal Daughter, one of his books\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><span class=\"Image-styles__CreditStyled-sc-8c99a12b-2 dVFjVB\">Fairfax Media Archives via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\"><figcaption class=\"Caption-styles__CaptionStyled-sc-70433723-0 fLsOPx\">Jeffrey Archer became one of Britain&#8217;s best-selling writers<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">However, he managed to secure an agreement with his creditors and wrote his first novel, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less in 1976.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Charting an American immigrant&#8217;s rise from messenger boy to corporate tycoon, it was inspired, in part, by his own financial problems and did much to solve them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Despite being rubbished by many critics, it sold well in the US and then in Britain, earning Archer a considerable sum in royalties. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Three years later, Kane and Abel, a ripping page-turner about the roller-coaster financial fortunes of two men who initially shared nothing but a date of birth, flew off the shelves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">A third novel, published in 1984, First Among Equals, about a cutthroat competition to become Prime Minister, cemented Archer&#8217;s position as one of Britain&#8217;s best-selling and highest earning authors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 kugUwP\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 bOmCce\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/ea59\/live\/cdb15a00-d820-11ef-97dd-7d5b45913b81.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Hulton Archive via Getty Images Sex worker Monica Coghlan photographed on a bed at home in 1987\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><span class=\"Image-styles__CreditStyled-sc-8c99a12b-2 dVFjVB\">Hulton Archive via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\"><figcaption class=\"Caption-styles__CaptionStyled-sc-70433723-0 fLsOPx\">Sex worker Monica Coghlan photographed at home in 1987<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">It enabled him to purchase the Old Vicarage at Grantchester near Cambridge, formerly the home of war poet, Rupert Brooke, as well as a penthouse in London.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">There, he entertained the great and the good with legendary parties, serving them with champagne and shepherd&#8217;s pies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">First Among Equals, with its political theme, had more than hinted at Archer&#8217;s desperation to get back into politics. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">He got his chance in 1985, when Margaret Thatcher, impressed by his drive and personality, gave him an unpaid job as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party with responsibility for fundraising.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">It lasted just a year. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 kugUwP\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 bOmCce\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/db7e\/live\/a208f0b0-d821-11ef-97dd-7d5b45913b81.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Hulton Archive via Getty Images Mary and Jeffrey Archer surrounded by members of the press after the Daily Star alleged that he had slept with a sex worker\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><span class=\"Image-styles__CreditStyled-sc-8c99a12b-2 dVFjVB\">Hulton Archive via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\"><figcaption class=\"Caption-styles__CaptionStyled-sc-70433723-0 fLsOPx\">Mary and Jeffrey Archer surrounded by members of the press after the Daily Star alleged that he had slept with a sex worker<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">In October 1986, the News of the World published a picture of Archer&#8217;s friend, Michael Stackpole, paying \u00a32,000 to a sex worker named Monica Coghlan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">The money was supposedly a bribe to persuade her to go abroad, to avoid the prying eyes of the press.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">And while the News of the World did not allege Archer had slept with Coghlan, the Daily Star was less reticent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Archer resigned his party post and sued the Star for libel. In court, he claimed the payment had been a goodwill gesture to a woman down on her luck.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Friends also gave him an alibi for the night the Star had claimed he was enjoying the company of Ms Coghlan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 kugUwP\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 bOmCce\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/4cd0\/live\/bb3009b0-d822-11ef-87df-d575b9a434a4.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Sygma via Getty Images Jeffrey Archer at the podium at the Conservative party conference\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><span class=\"Image-styles__CreditStyled-sc-8c99a12b-2 dVFjVB\">Sygma via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\"><figcaption class=\"Caption-styles__CaptionStyled-sc-70433723-0 fLsOPx\">Having won his libel trial, Jeffrey Archer returned to politics<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">It was the evidence of Mary Archer that swung the case. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Her appearance in court so captivated the judge, Mr Justice Caulfield, that in his summing up, he asked why a man with such a fragrant wife would sleep with prostitutes. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">&#8220;Is he in need of cold, unloving, rubber-insulated sex,&#8221; Caulfield asked, &#8220;in a seedy hotel round about quarter to one on a Tuesday morning after an evening at the Caprice?&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">The jury duly found for Archer and he was awarded \u00a3500,000 in damages. The News of the World later settled out-of-court with him, admitting they too had libelled him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">He went back to writing his books which continued to sell. By this time, he was thought to be worth more than \u00a350m.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 kugUwP\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 bOmCce\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/2b9c\/live\/e3f055a0-2745-11ef-81f8-2f03dcbc7025.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"PA Jeffrey Archer with Ken Livingstone and Glenda Jackson\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><span class=\"Image-styles__CreditStyled-sc-8c99a12b-2 dVFjVB\">PA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\"><figcaption class=\"Caption-styles__CaptionStyled-sc-70433723-0 fLsOPx\">Jeffrey Archer&#8217;s time as Conservative candidate for London mayor was short-lived<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">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.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">His wife, meanwhile, had joined the board of Anglia Television which, in 1994, was the subject of a takeover bid. The day after the move was discussed by the board, Archer bought 50,000 shares in the company on behalf of a friend. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">When the news of the takeover broke, the shares climbed in value and Archer made a profit of nearly \u00a378,000. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">A subsequent investigation cleared him of insider dealing, but soured relations with the Conservatives who were mired in their own battle against allegations of sleaze.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 kugUwP\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 bOmCce\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/8c99\/live\/07cd6530-2746-11ef-baa7-25d483663b8e.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"PA Lord and Lady Archer are photographed on their way to court. His wife Mary&apos;s testimony failed to sway the jury at his perjury trial\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><span class=\"Image-styles__CreditStyled-sc-8c99a12b-2 dVFjVB\">PA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\"><figcaption class=\"Caption-styles__CaptionStyled-sc-70433723-0 fLsOPx\">Lord and Lady Archer attend his perjury trial in 2001<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Undeterred, Archer, with the support of new Conservative leader William Hague, was selected as the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London in 1999. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Once more, the threat of scandal forced his resignation when the News of the World printed an interview with Archer&#8217;s former friend, Ted Francis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Francis alleged that the politician had lied on oath in his 1987 libel action against the Daily Star and Archer resigned as Conservative candidate for Mayor the next day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">There would be no forgiveness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">&#8220;This is the end of politics for Jeffrey Archer,&#8221; said William Hague. &#8220;I will not tolerate such behaviour in my party.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 kugUwP\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 bOmCce\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/8e1d\/live\/63cf03c0-2746-11ef-baa7-25d483663b8e.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Jeffrey Archer in his plush apartment on the banks of the Thames\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\"><figcaption class=\"Caption-styles__CaptionStyled-sc-70433723-0 fLsOPx\">The success of his books enabled him to maintain a lavish lifestyle<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">In 2000, Archer was charged with perjury and perverting the course of justice. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">At the same time, his play, The Accused, opened in London.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">It featured a murder in which the audience were the jury and decided the guilt, or otherwise of the protagonist at the end of each performance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">In May 2001, a month after Monica Coghlan&#8217;s death in a road accident, Archer went on trial.  This time, his wife&#8217;s testimony failed to sway the court. He was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Shortly after his conviction, police began investigating allegations of corruption.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">These related to the Kurdish charity in which Archer had been involved. There had been complaints that much of the \u00a357m he said he&#8217;d raised never reached the Kurds. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">However, police concluded that Archer, in fact, had received very little of the donations himself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 kugUwP\">\n<figure class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 ieGDnl\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageCardStyled-sc-8c99a12b-1 bOmCce\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20260922-091849-a8520cb5b4-web-3.22.0-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 fjCDYB hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/f2b0\/live\/84e60a40-d826-11ef-90a6-415e92196211.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"GC Images via Getty Images Lord Archer is photographed later in life. He is looking directly at the camera.\" class=\"Image-styles__ImageStyled-sc-8c99a12b-0 cVsHni\"><span class=\"Image-styles__CreditStyled-sc-8c99a12b-2 dVFjVB\">GC Images via Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 tlbDj\"><figcaption class=\"Caption-styles__CaptionStyled-sc-70433723-0 fLsOPx\">Lord Archer continued to publish novels into his mid-80s<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">First in HM Prison Belmarsh and then in HM Prison Wayland, Archer used his incarceration profitably &#8211; by writing a three-volume account of his time inside entitled My Prison Diary. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Two years later, he was released, having served half of his sentence. &#8220;I learned a lot from it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The British people are very forgiving.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">He retained his seat in the House of Lords, as there was no mechanism to remove an errant peer. He remained a member of Britain&#8217;s upper house until his formal retirement in 2024.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Writing well into his mid-80s, he continued to churn out at least one, if not two, novels a year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">In the last years of his life, there were several volumes of The Clifton Chronicles: detailing the turbulent life of former dockworker, Harry Clifton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">There were also seven novels about a fictional policeman, William Warwick, who rises from humble constable in the Metropolitan police to the very top of his profession. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">In January 2026, the 85-year-old announced that his forthcoming novel, Adam and Eve, would be his last.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">An epic tale inspired by Hitler&#8217;s indecision about whether to invade Britain, Archer poured everything into it. &#8220;Everyone would like to run their last 100m at the Olympics and win the gold medal,&#8221; he told BBC Breakfast in September 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Few critics praised Archer&#8217;s prose style, his sense of humour, or the emotional depth of his characters. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">But none could match his talent for relentless, aspirational, rags-to-riches plots that, once started, could not be put down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">Lord Archer often appeared incapable of separating autobiographical fact from fantasy in his continuing drive for public recognition. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"Container-styles__ContainerStyled-sc-8b855a6c-0 cPmzSx\">\n<div class=\"Grid-styles__GridStyled-sc-70d90311-0 hRsXiV\">\n<div class=\"GridItem-styles__GridItemStyled-sc-6cc20e4a-0 bnCeGm\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-styles__ParagraphStyled-sc-ffb5f5ba-0 fqhmpl\">He died a wealthy man, albeit one whom very few trusted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c80095q7p7jo&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/6cdc\/live\/20e80d70-c14c-11f1-bc2e-018d645d8d21.jpg&#8221;] AFP via Getty Images As many have observed, Jeffrey Archer,who has died aged 86, led a life as colourful as the plot in one of his novels. He was, at one time or other, a senior Conservative politician, a best-selling author, a peer of the realm, and a convicted perjurer. Possessed of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,226],"class_list":["post-2181031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2181031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2181031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2181031\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2181031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2181031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2181031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}