Jeffrey Archer died a day before his final book arrived. Delhi bookstores tell the story

“Farewell, and thank you.”The words, written by Jeffrey Archer in a note to readers at the end of Adam & Eve, felt eerily poignant as I held the book at Bahrisons Bookstore in New Delhi on a busy Tuesday morning, hours after his death.Archer died “suddenly and peacefully at home” on Monday, October 5, aged 86, in between writing sessions. His death came only hours before his final book was scheduled to hit the shelves. Jeffrey Archer’s final book, Adam & Eve, at Bahrisons Booksellers in Khan Market, New Delhi. (Photo: Author) Archer, widely celebrated as the master storyteller, spent more than five decades writing stories filled with ambition, betrayal, twists and larger-than-life characters, and somehow, the timing of his final book has the kind of dramatic twist that would not feel out of place in one of his own novels. Archer had already called Adam & Eve his final work. “After fifty years of storytelling, I have decided the time has come to write my final novel,” he wrote in the note, describing it as his “most satisfying writing endeavour”. What he could not have known was that he would die just a day before the book reached readers, never getting to see the reaction to his final work. In fact, he was scheduled to appear at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on Saturday to discuss the book. Just arrived! Adam & Eve copies at Bahrisons Booksellers. (Photo: Author) The timing has only added to the curiosity around Adam & Eve. While tributes poured in online and many spoke about the sheer coincidence of it all, we decided to visit some of New Delhi’s most iconic bookstores to get a first-hand glimpse of the buzz around Archer’s final novel. That curiosity was visible in the bookstores too. An employee pulls out a copy of Adam & Eve from the shelf at Bahrisons Booksellers. (Photo: Author) At Bahrisons in Khan Market, the bright yellow-and-black cover of Adam & Eve stood prominently right in front of the billing counter, on a shelf dedicated entirely to Archer’s books. Another stack lay on the floor beside it, waiting to be placed on the shelves. The consignment had arrived only about an hour before we reached the store.“We have been receiving several messages enquiring about the book on WhatsApp. Some are especially asking if we have signed copies,” an employee at the store told India Today Digital, adding that they were yet to sell a copy that morning. “It is a Tuesday morning... maybe that’s why,” he said, as he showed me some of the WhatsApp enquiries he had received but hadn’t yet had the time to respond to.At Midland Book Shop, one of Delhi’s most prominent bookstores, owner Tauseef Mirza was busy fielding queries about the book, both over the phone and in person.“Is the Jeffrey Archer book here?” asked Mani, a resident of the SDA area and an avid reader who had been looking forward to the book ever since its release was announced.“It should be here in another 10 minutes,” Tauseef told her. The first set of Adam & Eve copies at Midland Book Shop in New Delhi, fresh out of the carton. (Photo: Author) Mani left the store to run some errands, while we waited for the consignment to arrive. A short while later, brown cartons from HarperCollins made their way into the store. Inside were 72 copies of Adam & Eve.As the employees began unpacking the boxes, Tauseef told us, “This is just the initial order. Almost 250 copies will arrive in the evening. Sixty of these will go straight to online pre-orders we had received through our website.” Tauseef Mirza of Midland Bookshop holding a copy of Jeffrey Archer's last book. (Photo: Author) The 468-page novel is priced at Rs 599.But what is Adam & Eve about?Set against the backdrop of two world wars, the novel follows Eve, the daughter of an Earl, and Adam, a shepherd’s son, who are born on the same day the First World War ends.Their bond begins in childhood and carries into the Second World War, when, on a September night in 1940, their actions are imagined to change Hitler’s mind as he prepares to invade Britain. The story then unfolds as an alternate-history tale of how their choices could determine not only their own futures, but the fate of a nation.Archer and India: “Natural friends”India, perhaps fittingly, gets a mention in Archer’s final note to his readers.After thanking readers across 119 countries, from Sydney to Toronto and Buenos Aires to New York, Archer specifically named “Mumbai” before adding a line about his homeland and signing off. It is a small mention, but a fitting one for a writer who considered India his biggest market and whose books became a part of the reading lives of generations here. Mumbai finds a mention in his final note to his millions of readers worldwide. Archer often spoke about his love for the country, his passion for cricket and his friendship with several Indian cricketers. But what seemed to surprise him most was the sheer scale of his readership here. He once said he was often asked why he sold millions of books in India, only to admit that he could not really explain it. What he did know was that he felt a deep connection with Indian readers, calling Indians his “natural friends”. Jeffrey Archer with former cricketer Ravi Shastri. The scenes around his visits explained the superstar status he had acquired. His 2019 appearance at the Jaipur Literature Festival drew nearly 8,000 people, a crowd he later compared to a concert. And India was important enough to Archer and his publishers that several of his later books were released here before they reached his home market. The final Clifton Chronicles book, for instance, arrived in India two days before the UK and four days before the US.And perhaps the best indication of just how deeply Archer’s books resonate in India can be seen in bookstores today. Not many stores have Adam & Eve yet, as we found when we called around. But at the few that have received copies this morning, the demand was evident, with store managers fielding calls and messages from readers eager to get their hands on Archer’s final novel.- Ends