Jailed politician to best-selling author Jeffrey Archer has died aged 86

| Night News Editor Published October 5, 2026 9:49pm Updated October 5, 2026 10:00pm Jeffrey Archer has died suddenly at his home at the age of 86. The ex-Tory politician who was jailed for perjury continued to write best-sellers behind bars. While serving his sentence, he documented his experiences in prison turning it into his highly successful three-volume non-fiction series, A Prison Diary (published as Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven). He was released in 2003 and returned to the House of Lords until he retired in 2024. In a statement, his publisher’s HarperCollins said the author died ‘peacefully’ on Monday. Sign up for all of the latest stories Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens. His final book, Adam and Eve, is set to be released later this month HarperCollins revealed, describing him as a ‘master storyteller’ whose readers ‘meant everything to him’. ‘Jeffrey’s career is the stuff of publishing legend’, the statement continued. ‘He spent a total of 14 years and five months on the Sunday Times bestseller lists and 5 ½ years on the New York Times bestseller lists, selling 300 million books in 119 countries in 49 languages. ‘He was the master storyteller and an editor’s dream – phenomenally hard-working, utterly committed to completing draft after draft to get every word as perfect as possible, and a true champion of the ‘team’ nature of great publishing.’ Harper Collins said the author had met and signed books for hundreds of fans at a sold-out event with broadcaster Gyles Brandreth at the Leicester Square Theatre in central London the day before he died. Writing on X, Brandreth said: ‘Just yesterday I did a show with Jeffrey Archer to celebrate his new novel – he said it was to be his last. ‘He was in the most wonderful, ebullient form and had such a great reception from a packed house. He was funny, engaging and self-deprecating – a great storyteller to the last.’ Archer was due to be at the Cheltenham Festival on Saturday to discuss his final novel, Adam and Eve. He had his wife Mary had celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year. They had two sons and five grandchildren. Arrow MORE: Singer and Canadian Idol judge Sass Jordan dies aged 63 Arrow MORE: Chad Lowe’s eldest daughter shares heartbreaking tribute after death of sister Fiona, 13 Arrow MORE: Gypsy Rose Blanchard and partner Ken Urker split before death, his sister claims News Updates Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.