Apr 01, 2006 08:44 PM
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Jeffrey Archer was born in Western Super Mare, England on April 15, 1940 and grew up in Somerset. He attended the Oxford Department of Education, where he studied physical education and represented Great Britain in international competition as a world-class sprinter.
Archer entered politics in April 1967, gaining a seat on the Greater London Council. Two years later, at the age of 29, he became Britain's fourth youngest member of the House of Commons. However, Archer invested his life savings in a Canadian cleaning firm that collapsed due to management fraud and embezzlement. After losing all of his money, he resigned from Parliament. Rather than go bankrupt and stiff his creditors, Archer decided to write a novel based on his unfortunate experiences. Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less became an instant bestseller in the U.S. and helped him get out of debt. This early achievement marked the beginning of his highly successful writing career.
Certain themes are prevalent in Archer's novels, including sex, murder, politics and international conflict. In A Matter of Honor, the only son of a disgraced British colonel discovers a shocking secret about his late father that could change the balance of power between America and the Soviet Union. Honor Among Thieves follows the path of a CIA agent and Mossad operative as they travel through four continents to foil a sinister plot by Saddam Hussein. Domestic and international politics dominate The Eleventh Commandment, in which an American war hero --- who is secretly working as a CIA assassin --- must overcome threats from within his own organization and abroad.
Many of Archer's novels center around two or more individuals who are highly ambitious, strong-willed and are determined to defeat one another in order to gain power and fortune. Kane and Abel details the relentless battle between two men of different backgrounds who despise each other. The potentially deadly consequences of achieving fame and fortune are illustrated in The Prodigal Daughter and Shall We Tell the President, the two novels that complete the Kane and Abel trilogy. In The Fourth Estate, two powerful newspaper publishers who are floundering in debt resort to any means necessary to save their crumbling empires, while First Among Equals chronicles the lives of four extraordinary men who fight to become Prime Minister. His latest novel, Sons of Fortune, is about twins who are separated at birth and who are unaware of each other's existence.
Archer has also written impressive collections of short stories. A Quiver Full of Arrows and A Twist in the Tale contain stories that feature a British Diplomat who becomes the owner of a priceless work of art and a philandering husband who commits the perfect murder. The twelve stories included in Twelve Red Herrings each conclude with an unexpected turn of events, while the final story offers readers a choice of four different endings. In each story is a red herring that Archer challenges his readers to uncover. His most recent short story collection is titled To Cut a Long Story Short and was published in 2000.
Archer wrote his first play, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, in 1987; it ran at the Queen's Theatre in London's West End for 600 performances. His next play, The Accused, was a courtroom drama in which a doctor was charged with murdering his wife --- it is up to the readers to decide his fate. In September 2000, The Accused opened at the Theatre Royal in Windsor, with Archer in the title role. The audience became a jury and used electronic keypads to pass judgment on the accused.
Despite his flourishing writing career, Archer never gave up on his political ambitions. He continued working for the Conservative Party and, in 1985, Margaret Thatcher appointed him deputy chairman of the party. However, he had to resign just one year later due to allegations that he offered money to a prostitute. This unfortunate incident, though, did not keep Archer away from the public eye. In addition to writing Beyond Reasonable Doubt, he served as coordinator for the Campaign for Kurdish Relief in 1991, which raised over fifty-seven million pounds for the Kurdish people. In addition, he was elevated to the House of Lords in 1992.
Unfortunately, Archer's literary career and political aspirations have been put on hold for now. In July 2001, he was convicted of ''perjury and perverting the course of justice.'' It was alleged that he asked two friends to provide a false alibi and then compensated them for it during a libel case that involved a British tabloid. He is currently serving a 4-year sentence but is expected to be released sometime in 2003. Archer has the full support of his wife Mary and their two sons, Will and James.
Fast Facts
Archer writes all of his stories with a felt tip pen.
Archer often bases his novels on public figures: Margaret Thatcher (the main character in First Among Equals), Saddam Hussein (Honor Among Thieves) and Rupert Murdoch and the late Robert Maxwell (The Fourth Estate).
Shall We Tell the President, the final book in the Kane and Abel trilogy, was originally not written for the series. In the first version, published in 1977, Ted Kennedy played the part of the President. However, following its release, Archer wrote The Prodigal Daughter --- the sequel to Kane and Abel --- in which the chief character, Florentyna Kane, becomes the first female President of the United States. It seemed only logical to Archer that he introduce this character in a revised edition of Shall We Tell the President, which would give the book a natural link to Kane and Abel and The Prodigal Daughter.
Archer's favorite short story writers are F. Scott Fitzgerald, Maupassant, HH Munro, W. Somerset Maugham and O. Henry.
Archer is an avid art collector. In 1998, he bought Andy Warhol's 1982 portrait of Princess Diana, who had been a personal friend. Valued at more than $8.5 million, the portrait depicts the Princess with green and black hair.
