A tribute to Jeffrey Archer, one of the world’s greatest storytellers

Jeffrey Archer, a giant in the art of storytelling – novelist and former Conservative politician – died suddenly on Monday of this week at the age of 86. Last Sunday he was signing hundreds of copies of his latest book Adam and Eve – and what he announced would be his last one. This novel was due to be published the following day on Tuesday. His last event on the day before he died had been sold-out at the Leicester Square Theatre and was presented by the broadcaster Gyles Brandreth. I was sent two WhatsApp messages within minutes of each other on Monday night when the news broke out – one from former CEO of Gibraltar Cultural Services Yvette Zarb, and the second from the current CEO of GCS, Seamus Byrne, who had been successful in bringing Lord Jeffrey Archer to Gibraltar as a pre-event of the Gibraltar Gibunco Literary Festival in 2021. Archer’s Publishers Harper Collins had said in a statement he had died in between writing sessions that day “suddenly and peacefully at his home”.

That night Seamus posted the following on social media as tribute to him – “Was very proud to have been able to invite and host Jeffrey Archer in Gibraltar in November 2021. One of the world’s greatest storytellers indeed. RIP Jeffrey and may your books continue to inspire generations.

I knew right away Alice’s Table had to pay tribute to him. He had featured on these pages as I wrote of my encounter with him. I got writing straight away. As a journalist I have been privileged to meet some interesting characters along the way, and he certainly was one of them – cheerful, alert, lively and spirited. He was also one of my writing heroes and over the years I had read – especially his early work – books which are listed as some of my favourites. Back in 2021 I was honoured, not just to meet him, but also presented with the opportunity to interview him. And he was charming, wanted me to call him Jeffrey, and was prepared to answer all my questions.

I waited to chat to him for a long time as his line of fans wanting their books signed stretched out of the Charles Hunt Room to the outside and onto the balcony. Finally, it came to an end. He signed more than 100 books that night, and when I handed him mine, it opened an interest in him, and he looked at it for a while studying its cover. It was an early copy, and a much loved and used (I had read several times) edition of his greatly successful, Kane and Abel, which had sold 34 million copies world-wide. According to his official website his book sales reach over 300 million in 14 countries and have been translated into more than 47 languages. His books span novels, short‑story collections, children’s books, plays, and non‑fiction.

His first novel in 1976 was, Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less. It was an instant bestseller as well although as you will read publishers were not that keen initially. Then came the Kane and Abel Trilogy with, Shall We Tell the President? (1977), Kane and Abel (1979) and The Prodigal Daughter (1982); I have all early editions of these books as I do of his 1984 novel, First Among Equals. Between 1986 and 2018 he published a further 11 books. Then came The Clifton Chronicles (seven‑books), and the William Warwick Detective Series (another eight books). My personal favourite of his short stories remains, A Quiver Full of Arrows (1980), with many more to follow. A prolific writer indeed.

Just last week I had watched an interview on the publication of his last book - and I heard him announce he was not going to write anymore. He was a man full of energy and still committed to what he loved to do.

Writing for the Press Association, Ellie Crabbe, reported that Jeffrey Archer had been a Conservative MP for five years before serving as the party’s deputy chairman. He had a successful career as a novelist alongside politics and was made a life peer in 1992 as Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare, becoming the Conservatives’ choice to fight for the party in the first London mayoral election. But his campaign ended when his political career crashed in 2001 with the disgrace of his being imprisoned for four years for perjury and perverting the course of justice.

Her report referred to the time when an Old Bailey jury found that he had lied in a libel action he had brought against The Star newspaper 13 years earlier, in which he was awarded £500,000 damages. He was released early in 2003 and returned to the House of Lords until he retired in 2024.

Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, who spent Sunday evening with Lord Jeffrey Archer to celebrate his new novel, Adam and Eve, said the author had been in his “most wonderful, ebullient form”.

Posting on X, he 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 and his wife Dame Mary Archer celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year.

The night he stood on the John Mackintosh Hall stage as part of the ‘Second Gibraltar Literature Week’ organised by Gibraltar Cultural Services in 2021 - the place was heaving – the theatre was packed. He delivered with such commitment and self-control as he combined storytelling and real-life events proving why he was always in demand at such events and why he was such a successful author. He could spin and weave out of stories as the ultimate storyteller.

As a journalist meeting people you have always admired, some encounters can at times not always be what you expected – and yet where Jeffrey Archer was concerned, I need not have feared. He certainly met all my expectations. He was down to earth. Oozed charm. Was more than chatty. And one thing I vividly remember was him wanting to make sure his fans all left with signed copies of his books. I waited a long time for that interview with him, but he would not be rushed when it got to my turn allowing me to take as long as I needed to, in order, to get through all my questions. I have dug out the article of Alice’s Table from 2021, and here are some excerpts from it giving us some insight into this giant of a man.

My column began with the following: This is a very early edition of Kane and Abel, Lord Jeffrey Archer said to me last Saturday at the John Mackintosh Hall as I handed him my old copy of the book. Having already given his talk and having signed umpteen number of books, I imagined he may have been tired. But he is used to the accolade; the rush of fans. He remained sharp and interested in what I was handing him.

“The cover is very different to the later editions,” Lord Archer tells me.

“Call me Jeffrey,” he insists.

“Yes, it is an early edition Jeffrey,” I acknowledge. My edition is from 1982.

“I have been reading it and you since I was a teenager. Kane and Abel, has been part of my life’s journey,” I add. To which he smiles broadly and proceeds to sign my book.

Then I wrote: There are some singers, songwriters and authors that I have always wished I could chat to or interview, even briefly. Lord Archer was on that list…

So, there I was faced with the opportunity of interviewing one of the most, if not the most familiar names, in the world of contemporary literature today, and in my hometown… How could I say no? This is an author – the only author ever - to have been a number one bestseller in the fiction list 19 times, short stories four times… he has sold a staggering close to 300 million books around the globe. It is one of the first questions I pose. How does one get one’s head around that figure?

“You don’t,” came his response after a couple of seconds.

“You come to places like Gibraltar, and people stop you in the street, and tell you I read, Kane and Abel, as a young man or woman and it influenced my whole life. How can you say it influenced your whole life? But it never stops, every single day of my life. This is a very fair question because I have not got a handle on it, yet. And I hope I never will.”

He then tells me a story about his visit to Jaipur where he was 100 yards away from the stage and from where he could hear cheering.

“I literally turned to my helper and asked… what are they cheering for?... to which he replied …they are cheering you. When I went on stage I burst into tears. 8,800 people. I turned away from them and pretended it was part of my speech until I was in semi-control,” he adds, reliving the moment.

… as he stepped onto the John Mackintosh Hall stage you got a sense that his contribution was going to be something special. Right from his first opening words he carried the packed auditorium with him. He was going to enjoy the moment, but he was also going to make sure that everyone else did as well, offering them a memory that would be with them a lifetime…

… at the end of his talk, the mood was upbeat. There can be no doubt Archer was well-rehearsed. How many of these talks had he done before? And yet it felt that this talk was just for the Gibraltar audience – but that’s the art of a consummate professional storyteller.

That interview is one I will cherish forever because he was just simply down to earth and my equal. He had nothing to prove his books did that for him… and as for me there was no question I could not ask or that he was prepared to answer.

He reminded me that everything in life is possible if one is determined and is prepared to work for it. His first book, Not A Penny More Not a Penny Less, was rejected by the first 14 publishers.

He readily stated: “They did not want it! Then my life changed overnight. I sat down and wrote a book called Kane and Abel… being an author is such a privilege and honour… you never know when and why a book will take off…”

Jeffrey Archer liked to be called Jeffrey – he described himself as “a man of the people. I like being called Jeffrey. There is nothing ‘lordly’ about me, I am a people man”.

Over the past week many words – accolades - have been written about this man who was at the forefront of popular literature for 50 years – always at the top of his career – who inspired and knew how to reach the masses with his words. I hope my words will contribute in some small measure to honour and recognise this giant of both words and storytelling.

Now, it is time to once again open my signed copy of Kane and Abel.