Jeffrey Archer, bestselling novelist and former Conservative MP, dies aged 86

Jeffrey Archer, the bestselling novelist and former Conservative politician, has died aged 86, his publisher HarperCollins announced on Monday.

HarperCollins said Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare died “suddenly and peacefully at home” on 5 October, “between writing sessions”.

Archer sold more than 300 million books worldwide in a five-decade career that began with Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less in 1976. Kane and Abel, published in 1979, spent five and a half years on the New York Times bestseller list. His final novel, Adam and Eve, is published on 6 October — the day after his death.

Born in London on 15 April 1940, Archer was elected the Conservative MP for Louth in 1969, aged 29, and later served as deputy chairman of the party. His political career ended after he was convicted of perjury in 2001 for lying in an earlier libel case. He was made a life peer in 1992.

HarperCollins UK chief executive Kate Elton called him “the master storyteller and an editor’s dream”. He is survived by his wife, Dame Mary Archer, their sons James and William, and five grandchildren.

Sources

• Reuters: “UK author and politician Jeffrey Archer dies aged 86” (5 Oct 2026) — https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-author-politician-jeffrey-archer-dies-aged-86-2026-10-05/
• The Times: “Jeffrey Archer, novelist and Conservative politician, dies aged 86” (5 Oct 2026) — https://www.thetimes.com/article/jeffrey-archer-novelist-conservative-dies-86-sqs8mhmnr
• HarperCollins statement (via The Sun, 5 Oct 2026): https://www.thesun.ie/news/17720673/jeffrey-archer-dead-full-statement/
• Wikipedia: Jeffrey Archer (birth/death dates, MP dates) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Archer