Jeffrey Archer, bestselling UK novelist and scandal-plagued politician, dies aged 86

Jeffrey Archer, the bestselling British novelist and former politician who was jailed for lying in a high-profile libel case, has died aged 86, his publisher HarperCollins said on Monday. Archer sold over 300 million copies worldwide and was known for pacy thrillers like his 1976 debut “Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less” and 1979’s “Kane & Abel.” His final novel, “Adam and Eve,” is due to be published on Tuesday. Kate Elton, HarperCollins’ UK CEO and Archer’s editor, said in a statement: “We’re all devastated to have lost a writer who has brought joy to generations of readers — and a true friend.” Archer was also a prominent Conservative politician, who briefly served as a lawmaker before becoming a senior party official under then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the mid-1980s. But he was as well-known for his very public downfall.