Jeffrey Archer, the bestselling British novelist behind "Kane and Abel" and the "Clifton Chronicles," has died at 86.
Archer died Monday, Oct. 5, at home, his publisher HarperCollins said in a statement. He died "suddenly and peacefully" while "between writing sessions," the publisher said. A cause of death was not disclosed.
His death came a day before the scheduled Oct. 6 release of "Adam & Eve," which Archer had planned to be his final novel. On Oct. 4, he met hundreds of readers and signed books at a sold-out event at London's Leicester Square Theatre.
Kate Elton, HarperCollins UK's CEO and Archer's editor, remembered him as "the master storyteller and an editor's dream," praising his dedication to revising each manuscript.
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Elton called Archer "phenomenally hard-working, utterly committed to completing draft after draft to get every word as perfect as possible," and shared that working with him "has been one of the great privileges of my publishing life."
"We're all devastated to have lost a writer who has brought joy to generations of readers readers – and a true friend," Elton concluded her statement.
USA TODAY has reached out Elton, his longtime editor, for a comment.
Jeffrey Archer books rivaled real-life drama
Archer published his first novel, "Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less," in 1976. Over his career, "he spent a total of 14 years and five months on the Sunday Times bestseller lists and 5 1/2 years on the New York Times bestseller lists, selling 300 million books in 119 countries in 49 languages," HarperCollins' statement said.
His 1979 novel "Kane and Abel" centers on a bitter rivalry between two men from vastly different backgrounds. His later work included the seven-book "Clifton Chronicles" and the William Warwick detective series.
Writing offered Archer a way to recover from financial trouble. According to his official biography, he began his first novel after a failed investment left him deeply in debt and he left the House of Commons.
He later became deputy chairman of Britain's Conservative Party and received a life peerage in 1992. In 2001, he was sentenced to four years in prison for perjury and perverting the course of justice. The conviction stemmed from lies he told during a 1987 libel case against the Star newspaper, The Guardian reported.
Archer was released in 2003 after serving two years. He documented his imprisonment in three volumes of prison diaries.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jeffrey Archer, bestselling 'Kane and Abel' author, dies at 86
