Jeffrey Howard Archer is the successful author of a number of popular
novels, a convicted perjurer and former Deputy Chairman of the
Conservative Party and a former M.P.
The son of a printer, Jeffrey Howard Archer was born in 1940 London and
brought up in Somerset. He was educated at Wellington School, and
Brasenose College, Oxford, where he excelled in sports and was president
of the Athletic Club.
He became a familiar figure in campus when, as a captain of the Oxford
track and field team, he broke the record of 9.6 seconds in the 100 yard
dash and was chosen to be a member of the British track team that
competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics.
He was a Member of Parliament and deputy chairman of the Conservative
Party, and became a life peer in 1992. His political career, having
suffered several controversies, ended after a conviction for perverting
the course of justice and his subsequent imprisonment. He is married to
Mary Archer, a scientist specializing in solar power. Outside politics,
he is a novelist, playwright and short story writer.
Archer’s books are peppered with heroic feats and crime elements. His first novel,
Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, was published in both the United States and England in 1976 and was an instant success.
His second novel,
Shall We Tell the President? (1977), is a
thriller depicting a plot to assassinate Edward Kennedy. His Kane and
Abel proved to be his best-selling novel, reaching no.1 on the New York
Times "Best seller list". It was made into a successful television
series.
In 1998 Jeffrey Archer published a novel,
The Eleventh Commandment - Thou Shalt not Be Caught.
Jeffrey Howard Archer: English novelist and former politician
