Jeffrey Archer facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids The Right Honourable The Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare
Archer at Hatchards London in 2024

Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
In office 27 July 1992 – 4 July 2024 Life peerage
Member of Parliament for Louth (Lincolnshire)
In office 4 December 1969 – 20 September 1974
Preceded by	Cyril Osborne
Succeeded by	Michael Brotherton

Personal details
Born	Jeffrey Howard Archer 15 April 1940 (1940-04-15) (age 85) London, England
Political party	Non-affiliated (since 2001)
Other political affiliations	Conservative (prior to 2001)
Spouse	Mary Weeden (m. 1966)
Children	2
Residences	London, England
Occupation	Politician, author
Writing career
Occupation	Novelist, short story writer, playwright
Period	1976–present
Genre	Thriller, drama

Jeffrey Howard Archer, also known as Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940), is a famous English novelist and a former politician. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Louth in Lincolnshire from 1969 to 1974. An MP is a person elected to represent a group of people in the UK Parliament.

After some financial difficulties, Archer became a very successful writer. His book Kane and Abel (1979) is one of the world's best-selling books. It has sold an amazing 34 million copies around the globe. In total, his books have sold over 320 million copies worldwide.

Archer was also a senior member of the Conservative Party, serving as its deputy chairman from 1985 to 1986. He was given a special title, called a life peer, in 1992. This meant he became a member of the House of Lords, which is part of the UK Parliament. He later faced some legal challenges, which led to the end of his active political career.

Jeffrey Archer's Early Life and Schooling

Jeffrey Howard Archer was born in London, England, on 15 April 1940. When he was two weeks old, his family moved to Somerset. They eventually settled in the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare. Jeffrey spent most of his childhood there.

His father, William, passed away in 1956. As a boy, Jeffrey dreamed of becoming the captain of the Bristol Rovers Football Club. He is still a big fan of the team today.

Time at Wellington School

In 1951, Jeffrey Archer won a scholarship to Wellington School in Somerset. His mother, Lola, worked as a journalist for the local newspaper, the Weston Mercury. She often wrote about Jeffrey in her weekly column, calling him 'Tuppence'. This made him a bit famous locally, but it also led to some bullying at school.

Archer left school with good grades in English literature, art, and history. After school, he tried different jobs. He trained with the army for a short time and also worked for the Metropolitan Police. Later, he became a physical education teacher at two different schools.

Studying at Oxford University

In 1963, Archer got a place at the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. He studied for a special teaching qualification there. While at Oxford, he became a member of Brasenose College.

Archer was very good at sports during his time at Oxford. He competed in sprinting and hurdling. He even became the president of the Oxford University Athletic Club. He earned a special award called a blue in athletics. He went on to run for England and even competed for Great Britain once.

Archer also helped raise money for the charity Oxfam. He even got The Beatles to support a fundraising event. The band visited his college and took photos with him and the college staff.

Jeffrey Archer's First Jobs

After leaving Oxford, Archer continued to work as a fundraiser for charities. He first worked for a medical charity that helped with safe childbirth. Then, he joined the United Nations Association (UNA) as their main fundraiser.

Around this time, Archer also started his political career. He served as a Conservative councillor on the Greater London Council from 1967 to 1970.

In 1969, Archer started his own company called Arrow Enterprises. It focused on fundraising and public relations. That same year, he opened an art gallery in Mayfair, London. The gallery showed modern art, but it didn't make money, so he sold it two years later.

Serving as a Member of Parliament

At 29 years old, Jeffrey Archer was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP). He won the seat for Louth in Lincolnshire for the Conservative Party in 1969.

During his time as an MP, Archer was known for being on the more liberal side of the Conservative Party. He sometimes disagreed with his party's policies. For example, he supported free TV licences for older people. He also spoke out against charging people to enter museums.

In 1971, he hired David Mellor to help with his work. Archer believed Mellor would one day become a senior government minister. In an interview in 1999, Archer said he hoped politics would not become too extreme. He described himself as "centre-right" and said he disliked both extreme right-wing and left-wing views.

Financial Challenges

In 1974, Archer faced a big financial problem. He lost a lot of money in a bad investment scheme involving a Canadian company. This left him owing almost £500,000. Because of these financial difficulties, he decided not to run for re-election in the October 1974 general election.

Becoming a Bestselling Author

To help with his financial problems, Archer wrote his first book, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, in late 1974. The book was published in 1976. It was later adapted for radio and television.

His book Kane and Abel (1979) became his most successful work. It reached number one on The New York Times bestsellers list. This book was made into a TV mini-series by CBS in 1985. The next year, another of his bestsellers, First Among Equals, was made into a 10-part TV show. This story followed four men trying to become prime minister.

Besides novels and short stories, Archer has also written three plays for the stage. His first play, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, opened in 1987 and ran for over a year in London. His other plays include Exclusive and The Accused.

Archer has said that he spends a lot of time writing and rewriting each book. He often travels abroad to write the first draft. He works in two-hour blocks and writes up to 17 drafts in total for each book. Since 2010, he has written the first draft of his new books at his villa in Majorca, which he calls "Writer's Block."

In 2011, Archer started The Clifton Chronicles series. This series has seven books and tells the story of Harry Clifton from his birth in 1920 to his funeral in 1993. The final book in the series was published in 2016.

The Short, the Long and the Tall, a collection of his short stories with illustrations, was published in 2020. In 2021, Over My Dead Body was published. This is the fourth book in his thriller series featuring detective William Warwick. It became a New York Times bestseller.

Return to Politics

Archer's political career became active again in the 1980s. He was a popular speaker for the Conservative Party. In September 1985, Margaret Thatcher appointed him as the deputy chairman of the Conservative Party.

During his time as deputy chairman, Archer made some controversial comments. For example, he once said that many young, unemployed people were unwilling to find work. He later apologized for this remark. Archer resigned as deputy chairman in October 1986.

Helping the Kurdish People

When there were uprisings in Iraq in 1991, Archer helped set up a charity called Simple Truth. This charity raised money for the Kurds. In May 1991, Archer organized a big charity pop concert with famous singers like Rod Stewart and Sting.

Because of his work helping the Kurds, Prime Minister John Major recommended that Archer be given a special title. On 27 July 1992, he became Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare. This made him a life peer and a member of the House of Lords.

London Mayor Candidacy

In 1999, the Conservative Party chose Archer as their candidate for the London mayoral election of 2000. He had the support of two former Prime Ministers, Baroness Thatcher and John Major.

However, Archer withdrew his candidacy in November 1999 after some information came out about a past legal case. The leader of the Conservative Party, William Hague, stated that this was the end of Archer's political career. Archer was later suspended from the party for five years.

Legal Challenges and Imprisonment

In 2001, Jeffrey Archer faced a trial related to his past legal case. He was found guilty of misleading the court during a trial in 1987. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

Time in Prison

Archer was first sent to HM Prison Belmarsh, a high-security prison. He was later moved to other prisons, including HM Prison Wayland and HM Prison North Sea Camp, which is an open prison. From the open prison, he was allowed to work outside and visit home sometimes.

During his time in prison, many of his high-profile friends visited him. In 2002, Archer repaid money he had received from a newspaper in 1987, along with legal costs.

On 21 July 2003, Archer was released from prison early. He had served half of his sentence. He remained a peer in the House of Lords, but he did not take an active part in parliamentary meetings until he officially retired from the Lords in 2024.

Prison Diaries

While in prison, Archer wrote a three-book memoir called A Prison Diary. Each book was named after one of the prisons where he was held. His time in prison also inspired nine of the 12 short stories in his collection Cat O' Nine Tales.

Jeffrey Archer's Personal Life

Jeffrey Archer married Mary Weeden in July 1966. They met while studying at Oxford University. Mary went on to become an expert in solar power.

They have two sons: William Archer, who is a theatrical producer, and James Archer, who works in finance.

In 1979, the Archers bought a historic house called the Old Vicarage, Grantchester. This house is famous for its connection to the poet Rupert Brooke. Every summer, they host a large garden party there to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

After overcoming his financial difficulties in the 1970s, Archer became financially stable again. He started hosting special parties at his London apartment, which overlooks the River Thames and the Houses of Parliament. These parties were known for serving shepherd's pie and Krug champagne to important guests.

In 2006, Archer stated that he was not interested in returning to front-line politics. He said he would focus on his writing career instead.

Jeffrey Archer in Books and TV Shows

Jeffrey Archer has been portrayed in fiction in different ways. In a 2002 BBC drama called Jeffrey Archer: The Truth, actor Damian Lewis played him as a misunderstood secret agent and a hero.

He has also been mentioned in other popular works. In the Amazon TV series Good Omens, a character jokes about the smell of "Jeffrey Archer books." In the Doctor Who episode Silence in the Library, the Doctor mentions that a huge library has "whole continents of Jeffrey Archer" books.

Jeffrey Archer's Published Works

Archer has published 42 books, which have been translated into 33 languages. His books have sold over 275 million copies worldwide.

Kane and Abel Series

Kane and Abel (1979)
The Prodigal Daughter (1982)
Shall We Tell the President? (1986 - revised edition)

Clifton Chronicles Series

Only Time Will Tell (2011)
The Sins of the Father (2012)
Best Kept Secret (2013)
Be Careful What You Wish For (2014)
Mightier Than the Sword (2015)
Cometh The Hour (2016)
This Was a Man (2016)

William Warwick Series

Nothing Ventured (2019)
Hidden in Plain Sight (2020)
Turn a Blind Eye (2021)
Over My Dead Body (2021)
Next in Line (2022)
Traitor's Gate (2023)
An Eye for an Eye (2024)

Other Novels

Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less (1976)
First Among Equals (1984)
A Matter of Honour (1986)
As the Crow Flies (1991)
Honour Among Thieves (1993)
The Fourth Estate (1996)
The Eleventh Commandment (1998)
Sons of Fortune (2002)
False Impression (2005)
The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot, with Francis J. Moloney (2007)
A Prisoner of Birth (2008)
Paths of Glory (2009)
Heads You Win (2018)

Short Story Collections

A Quiver Full of Arrows (1980)
A Twist in the Tale (1988)
Fools, Knaves, and Heroes: Great Political Short Stories (Editor, Introduction) (1991)
Twelve Red Herrings (1994)
The Collected Short Stories (1997)
To Cut a Long Story Short (2000)
Cat O'Nine Tales (2006)
And Thereby Hangs a Tale (2010)
The New Collected Short Stories (2011)
The Jeffrey Archer Short Story Challenge Collection (Editor, Contributor) (2013)
Four Warned (Quick Reads, 2014)
It Can't Be October Already (2017)
Tell Tale (2017)
The Short, the Long and the Tall (2020)

Plays

Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1987)
Exclusive (1989)
The Accused (2000)

Prison Diaries (Non-Fiction)

1. Hell — Belmarsh (2002)
2. Purgatory — Wayland (2003)
3. Heaven — North Sea Camp (2004)

Books for Children

By Royal Appointment (1980)
Willy Visits the Square World (1980)
Willy and the Killer Kipper (1981)
The First Miracle (1994)