The foreword of Lord Jeffrey Archer’s final novel has been revealed shortly after the author died suddenly at his home this week.
A senior source in the publishing industry said: ‘I know he said it was his last book, but this feels like he wrote it from the other side.’
The ‘master storyteller’, aged 86, died on the eve of the publication of Adam & Eve, the novel he said would be his last.
Introducing the book to readers, Lord Archer wrote of his storied career.
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Lord Archer thanked his readers from around the world, but suggested that he should have been Prime Minister, part of England’s cricket team or won Olympic Gold for the 100m race.
He added: ‘As Marcel Proust reminded us: ‘We always end up doing the thing we’re second best at. I can only hope that you’ve discovered what you’re second best at. Farewell, and thank you.’
The former Conservative deputy chairman had been in financial ruin before turning to writing, making millions out of his best-selling novels, most notably Kane and Abel.
His political career came to an abrupt halt in 2001 when he was jailed for perjury, but Archer continued to churn out best-sellers even behind bars.
While serving his sentence, he documented his experiences in prison, turning it into his highly successful three-volume non-fiction series, A Prison Diary (published as Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven).
He was released in 2003 and returned to the House of Lords until he retired in 2024.
In a statement, his publisher, HarperCollins, said the author died ‘peacefully’ on Monday.
HarperCollins said the author had met and signed books for hundreds of fans at a sold-out event with broadcaster Gyles Brandreth at the Leicester Square Theatre in central London the day before he died.
Writing on X, Brandreth said: ‘Just yesterday I did a show with Jeffrey Archer to celebrate his new novel – he said it was to be his last.
‘He was in the most wonderful, ebullient form and had such a great reception from a packed house. He was funny, engaging and self-deprecating – a great storyteller to the last.’
His final book, Adam and Eve, is released this week. Publisher HarperCollins described him as a ‘master storyteller’ whose readers ‘meant everything to him’.
Lord Archer was due to be at the Cheltenham Festival on Saturday to discuss his final novel, Adam and Eve.
He and his wife Mary had celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year. They had two sons and five grandchildren.
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