Jeffrey Archer dies at 86 as tributes paid and final novel published

Jeffrey Archer, the best-selling novelist and former Conservative politician, has died at the age of 86. His publisher HarperCollins said he died suddenly and peacefully at home, between writing sessions. Broadcasts announcing the death described it as sudden and unexpected. Reports differed on the exact day: some said he passed away yesterday, one said between writing sessions on Monday, and early coverage said the news had been announced within the last hour. His final novel, Adam and Eve, which he had said would be his last, was due for publication the next day and went on sale today. He had been signing books in the days before his death and was due to appear at a book festival.

At school in Weston-super-Mare Archer had done badly. He became a police officer, joined the army, and worked as a PE teacher. He falsely claimed to have a degree from America in order to take an education diploma at Oxford. He was an athlete who ran for his university and for Great Britain. He married Mary Weeden, a chemistry student, and once roped in the Beatles to raise money for Oxfam.

In 1969 he became the country's youngest MP, winning the safe Conservative seat of Louth in Lincolnshire at the age of 29. He was tipped to reach the top, but financial trouble derailed him. He lost money in a bad investment, owed nearly half a million pounds, faced bankruptcy, and was forced to quit Parliament. He turned to writing and sold hundreds of millions of books. His sales were put at more than 300 million, with some estimates at 320 million. Kane and Abel was one of the highest-selling books in the world. Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less drew on his experience of swindlers.

He returned to politics as deputy chairman of the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher. In 1986 he resigned after a newspaper accused him of sleeping with a sex worker, Monica Coghlan. He sued for libel and won substantial damages, reported at half a million pounds. The judge asked why a man with a wife like Mary would pay for sex, and described her as fragrant. John Major later made him a lord, and in 1992 he was made a life peer as Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare. He was selected as the Conservative candidate for mayor of London.

His political comeback collapsed when a former secretary provided evidence that he had lied in the libel trial and had persuaded friends to give false alibis. In 2001 he was convicted of perjury and perverting the course of justice. He was sentenced to four years in prison and served about two. He wrote prison diaries, broke prison rules by writing, and returned to his writing career after release. His political ambitions were shattered. One tribute described him as an extraordinary man with extraordinary energy, generous and active for charity, but also a serious crook and fraud.

Tributes came from across politics and public life. Queen Camilla said she was saddened and called him an irrepressible life force through all the differing chapters of his life, though she acknowledged he was not without flaw. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she was devastated, that many in her party had lost a dear friend, and that Archer had sent her a message that morning saying 'great outfit, great speech, no need to reply'. She also said he had made amends for his mistakes. Sir John Major called him the highest selling author of our time. Gyles Brandreth, who worked with him on Sunday to launch his final book, described him as the ultimate storyteller and said he had been in wonderful, ebullient form. His publisher and editor Kate Elton called him a master storyteller and an editor's dream, and said readers had been given joy for generations.

The news broke during the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham and caused shock there. Archer had long been a social and fundraising force at the conference. He was a warm-up act for John Major, and in 1990 he drove to Huntingdon with John Major's nomination papers after Major had toothache. He hosted champagne and shepherd's pie parties in conference hotels, attended by Margaret Thatcher, John Major and senior cabinet ministers. He had wanted to be mayor of London but had to withdraw after his perjury conviction; Steve Norris stepped in as the Conservative candidate.

In the days before his death he was still promoting Adam and Eve. An interview with Andrew Pierce was due to air. At an event the night before he died, he thanked the audience and recited Puck's farewell speech from A Midsummer Night's Dream, asking for forgiveness and saying farewell. Friends said it was a fitting end for a man who had always been a showman. One broadcast discussion mentioned prostate cancer, but said it was unclear whether that diagnosis had been public knowledge. Archer is survived by his wife Mary and their two sons.