Archive · 6 Oct 2026
Jeffrey Archer Dies, Remembered for Kane and Abel’s Indian Following
Jeffrey Archer was a British novelist whose books were read by people around the world.
His book Kane and Abel became especially popular in India.
He often visited India and met large crowds of readers.
Archer also worked in politics and later went to prison after being convicted of perjury.
While in prison, he wrote books about his experiences.
His final novel, Adam and Eve, came out the day after he died.
He was 86 years old.
Jeffrey Archer died suddenly and peacefully at his home in England, aged 86, according to publisher HarperCollins.
His 1979 novel Kane and Abel made him an international bestseller and introduced many Indian readers to adult fiction.
Archer toured India frequently from 2008, and his 2011 novel Only Time Will Tell sold more than 48,000 copies there that year.
His final novel, Adam and Eve, was published the day after his death; he had signed copies in London the previous day.
Archer’s career included British politics, a perjury conviction and prison, where he wrote the three-volume Prison Diary.
- Who
- British novelist Jeffrey Archer, aged 86.
- What
- Archer died at home, the day before his final novel was published.
- When
- He died on Monday; Adam and Eve was published the following day.
- Where
- At his home in England.
- Why
- The cause of death was not stated; HarperCollins described it as sudden and peaceful.
Archer’s claims and accusations
Responses and reservations in the account
Alleged borrowing of plots
Archer’s claims and accusations
Archer accused Bollywood producers of borrowing plot elements from Kane and Abel and Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less.
Responses and reservations in the account
The article reports Archer’s allegations but gives no response from the producers.
Claim about his father’s military service
Archer’s claims and accusations
Archer later claimed that his father had been a colonel in the Somerset Light Infantry.
Responses and reservations in the account
An unauthorised biography said the regiment found no connection.
- Age
- 86
- Kane and Abel publication
- 1979
- Books sold
- More than 300 million, according to Archer’s official website
- Countries published in
- 114, according to Archer’s official website
- Only Time Will Tell sales in India
- More than 48,000 copies in 2011, according to Nielsen BookScan
- Prison sentence
- Four years, imposed in 2001 after his perjury conviction
- Survivors
- His wife Dame Mary Archer, sons William and James, and five grandchildren