London, Oct 6:
Best-selling British author and former Conservative politician Jeffrey Archer died suddenly and peacefully at his home at the age of 86, his publisher HarperCollins said.
Archer, one of Britain’s most successful commercial writers, sold more than 300 million books worldwide. His best-known works include Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, Kane & Abel and the Clifton Chronicles. His final novel, Adam and Eve, is due to be published this month.
Archer also had a prominent political career, serving briefly as a Conservative MP before becoming a senior party official under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. His political career was later overshadowed by a perjury conviction and a four-year prison sentence in 2001.
Despite the controversy, Archer remained a popular author and continued writing until his death. He had been scheduled to discuss his final novel at the Cheltenham Literature Festival this week.