Jeffrey Archer Author Biographies

Jeffrey Howard Archer was born on April 15, 1940 in London and raised in Somerset, England. His parents were William, a printer, and Lola Archer, a journalist. He gained his education at Wellington and Brasenose College, Oxford. There he earned the position of President of University Athletic Club. He met his future wife, Mary Doreen Weeden at Oxford where she was studying chemistry. They married in 1966 and have remained married. They have two sons, William and James.

Jeffrey won a position on the Greater London Council. In 1969, at the age of 29, he became a Member of Parliament for Louth. He resigned from the House of Commons in 1974 after he suffered near bankruptcy behind some bad investments. He turned his attention to writing and his first novels became best sellers. Still today, he says he likes politics more than writing.
From 1985 to 1986 Jeffrey was Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. In 1986 he sued a publication for falsely accusing him of paying for sex with a prostitute. He won the case and was awarded an astounding 500,000 lira in damages.

He ran for Mayor of London, but in 1999, he withdrew his nomination. He had been charged with five counts including perjury and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. It seems a friend finally admitted that he lied for Jeffrey on the witness stand. Jeffrey Archer was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison.

Jeffrey spent two years of his term in prison. His time in prison brought about three nonfiction books known as the Prison Diaries.

There seems to be mixed feelings toward Jeffrey Archer. He has been called a controversial character, a rogue, humorless, charming, a liar, a cad, charismatic, funny, and a man lacking self introspection. One thing we do know for sure; he is a brilliant writer of novels and short stories. He is also a playwright.

He says he usually starts writing from 6AM for two hours then takes a break for two hours. This continues through the day until 8PM. He writes in long hand with a felt tip pen. He says that writing is serious business and not easy. You must be dedicated. He says, “A good novel combines good story telling with good writing.”

Books by Jeffrey Archer:

Series:
Shall We Tell the President? (1977)
Kane and Abel(1979)
The Prodigal Daughter (1982)
Kane and Abel 30th Anniversary Edition (2009)

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 Proprietors (1995)
The Fourth Estate(1996)
The Eleventh Commandment (1998)
Sons of Fortune (2002)
False Impression (2006)
A Prisoner of Birth (2008)
Paths of Glory (2009)

Collections:
A Quiver Full of Arrows (1980)
A Twist in the Tale (1988)
The Play’s the Thing (1990)
Twelve Red Herrings (1994)
The Collected Short Stories (1997)
To Cut a Long Story Short (2000)
A Collection of Short Stories (2000)
The Expert Witness and Other Stories (2000)
The Grass is Always Greener and Other Stories (2000)
Cat O'Nine Tales: And Other Stories(2006)
Word Play (The Jeffrey Archer Collection (2007)
And Thereby Hangs a Tale (2010)

Plays:
Willy and the Killer Kipper (1981)
Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1989)
The Perfect Murder (2001)
The Accused (2001)

Nonfiction Series:
Hell (2002) (writing as FF8282)
Purgatory (2003)
Heaven: A Prison Diary Volume 3(2004)