Editing Jeffrey Archer

{{Short description|English author and politician (born 1940)}}
{{Other people|Jeffrey Archer|Geoffrey Archer (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = The Lord Archer of {{nowrap|Weston-super-Mare}}
| honorific-suffix    = 
| image               = Jeffrey Archer 20241127.jpg
| caption             = Archer at [[Hatchards]] London in 2024
| office              = [[Member of the House of Lords]]<br />[[Lord Temporal]]
| term_start          = 27 July 1992
| term_end            = 4 July 2024<br />[[Life peer]]age
| office1             = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Louth, Lincolnshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Louth (Lincolnshire)]]
| parliament          = 
| majority            = 
| term_start1         = 4 December 1969
| term_end1           = 20 September 1974
| predecessor1        = [[Cyril Osborne]]
| successor1          = [[Michael Brotherton]]
| birth_name          = Jeffrey Howard Archer
| birth_date          = {{birth-date and age|15 April 1940}}
| birth_place         = [[London]], England
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| nationality         = 
| party               = [[Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords|Non-affiliated]] (since 2001)
| otherparty          = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] (prior to 2001)
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Mary Weeden]]|1966}}
| relations           = 
| children            = 2
| occupation          = Politician, author
| residence           = London, England 
| profession          = 
| website             = {{URL|jeffreyarcher.com}}
| module              = {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] --> |embed=yes
| occupation        = Novelist, short story writer, playwright
| period            = 1976–present
| genre             = [[Thriller (genre)|Thriller]], drama
}}
}}

'''Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare''' (born 15 April 1940)<ref>Dictionary of International Biography. 34th Edition. Rains, Sara, ed. Cambridge: Melrose Press, 2008.</ref> is an English novelist and former politician.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sala |first=Lana |others=Zinc Television London |date=2022 |title=Scandal: Jeffrey Archer and the call-girl |publisher=[[Channel 5 (British TV channel)|Channel 5]] |location=London |type=Documentary}}</ref> He was [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Louth, Lincolnshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Louth (Lincolnshire)]] from 1969 to 1974, but did not seek re-election after a financial scandal that left him almost bankrupt.<ref name=Odone>{{cite news | last1=Odone | first1=Christine | title=Jeffrey Archer: Mary would run the NHS beautifully | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/authorinterviews/9946402/Jeffrey-Archer-Mary-would-run-the-NHS-beautifully.html | access-date=7 November 2015 | work=The Telegraph | date=21 March 2013 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924164024/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/authorinterviews/9946402/Jeffrey-Archer-Mary-would-run-the-NHS-beautifully.html | archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>

Archer revived his fortunes as a novelist. His novel [[Kane and Abel (novel)|''Kane and Abel'']] (1979) remains one of the [[List of best-selling books|best-selling books in the world]], with an estimated 34 million copies sold worldwide.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rufford |first=Nick |title=Jeffrey Archer on his prison years and his latest crime caper |newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/jeffrey-archer-latest-crime-novel-interview-vhgdhqrpn |access-date=2022-05-16 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Flood |first1=Alison |title=Jeffrey Archer rewrites Kane and Abel 'for a new generation' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jun/15/jeffrey-archer-rewrites-kane-abel |access-date=26 June 2022 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=15 June 2009}}</ref> Overall his books have sold more than 320 million copies worldwide.<ref name="Horowitz">{{cite news|last1=Horowitz|first1=Anthony|title=Jeffrey Archer interview: the saga continues|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/8497940/Jeffrey-Archer-interview-the-saga-continues.html|access-date=20 January 2016|work=The Telegraph|date=7 May 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221013018/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/8497940/Jeffrey-Archer-interview-the-saga-continues.html|archive-date=21 February 2016}}</ref>

Archer was the deputy chairman of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] from 1985 to 1986; he resigned after a newspaper accused him of paying money to a prostitute. In 1987 he won a civil case and was awarded large damages because of this claim.<ref name=Davies>{{cite news|last1=Davies|first1=Caroline|title=He lied his way to the top|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1334660/He-lied-his-way-to-the-top.html|access-date=7 November 2015|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=20 July 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110023258/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1334660/He-lied-his-way-to-the-top.html|archive-date=10 November 2010}}</ref> He was made a [[life peer]] in 1992 and subsequently became the first Conservative candidate to be selected as a candidate for [[mayor of London]]. He ended his candidacy in 1999 after it emerged that he had lied in the case in 1987. In 2001 he was sentenced to four years of imprisonment for [[perjury]] and [[perverting the course of justice]], ending his active political career. He was released early in 2003.<ref name="Horowitz"/>

==Early life and education==
Jeffrey Howard Archer was born in the [[City of London Maternity Hospital]] in [[Holloway, London|Holloway]], London on 15 April 1940.<ref name="Kelso">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/20/conservatives.archer11|title=Mendacious, ambitious, generous and naive|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|last1=Kelso|first1=Paul|date=20 July 2001|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312130623/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/20/conservatives.archer11|archive-date=12 March 2016}}</ref> He was two weeks old when his family moved to [[Somerset]], eventually settling in the seaside town of [[Weston-super-Mare]],<ref name="Scott">{{cite news|last1=Scott|first1=Danny|title=Time and place: Jeffrey Archer|url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/style/homes_and_gardens/time_place/article1366446.ece|access-date=18 September 2016|work=The Sunday Times|date=26 January 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918235700/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/style/homes_and_gardens/time_place/article1366446.ece|archive-date=18 September 2016}}</ref> where Archer spent most of his early life.<ref name=Jack>{{cite news|last1=Jack|first1=Ian|title=Onwards, upwards, sometimes downwards|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/onwards-upwards-sometimes-downwards-1412898.html|access-date=4 November 2015|work=The Independent|date=23 October 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925165313/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/onwards-upwards-sometimes-downwards-1412898.html|archive-date=25 September 2015}}</ref>

His father, William (died 1956),<ref name=Farndale>{{cite news|last1=Farndale|first1=Nigel|title=Jeffrey Archer: The next chapter|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/donotmigrate/3671588/Jeffrey-Archer-The-next-chapter.html|access-date=7 November 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=2 March 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924180001/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/donotmigrate/3671588/Jeffrey-Archer-The-next-chapter.html|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> was 64 years old when Jeffrey Archer was born. Early in his career, Archer gave conflicting accounts to the press of his father's supposed, but non-existent, military career.<ref name=Jack/> William Archer was, in fact, a bigamist, fraudster, and conman, who impersonated another William Archer, a deceased war medal holder. He was at different times employed as a chewing gum salesman in New York and a mortgage broker in London. In the latter capacity, he was charged at the [[Old Bailey]] with a series of fraud offences. On being released on bail, he absconded to the US under the name William Grimwood.

In the US, William Archer fathered a child, Rosemary Turner (21 June 1917 – 11 October 1986), Jeffrey's half-sister. In 1940 Rosemary married lawyer [[Brien McMahon]] who went on to become the Democratic senator for [[Connecticut]] (1945–1952) and a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952. After Brien McMahon's death that year, Rosemary married, in 1953, the Belgian ambassador to Washington, Baron Silvercruys. The First Lady, Mamie Eisenhower, was the guest-of-honour at their wedding.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/19/archer.politics2 |title=The rise and fall of Jeffrey Archer |website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date=19 July 2001 |access-date=3 November 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208215635/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/19/archer.politics2 |archive-date=8 December 2015}}</ref><ref>Scandal! Private Stories of Public Shame, Colin Wilson and Damon Wilson, 2003, pg 30</ref><ref>They F*** You Up, Oliver James, 2010, pg 254</ref>

As a boy Archer dreamed of being captain of the [[Bristol Rovers]] Football Club. He is still a fan of the club.<ref>[http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Lord-Archer-s-tales-charm-audience/story-13395504-detail/story.html "Lord Archer's tales charm audience"] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130505153002/http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Lord-Archer-s-tales-charm-audience/story-13395504-detail/story.html |date=5 May 2013 }}, ''Bristol Post'', 24 September 2011</ref>

===Wellington School===
In 1951, Archer won a scholarship to [[Wellington School, Somerset|Wellington School]] in Somerset (not [[Wellington College, Berkshire|Wellington College]] in Berkshire, as he was later inclined to claim) after passing the 11-plus.<ref name=Farndale/> At this time his mother, Lola, was employed as a journalist on Weston's local newspaper, the ''[[Weston Mercury]]''.<ref name=Jeffrey>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/19/archer.politics2|last=Jeffrey|first=Simon|title=Rise and Fall of Jeffrey Archer|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=19 July 2001|location=London|access-date=3 November 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208215635/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/19/archer.politics2|archive-date=8 December 2015}}</ref> She wrote a weekly column entitled "Over the Teacups", and frequently wrote about Jeffrey, calling him 'Tuppence'.<ref name="Crick">{{cite news|last1=Crick|first1=Michael|title=Just Jeffrey: The child is father to the man.|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/just-jeffrey-the-child-is-father-to-the-man-todays-lord-archer-is-easily-recognisable-in-the-1416039.html|access-date=18 September 2016|work=The Independent|date=24 July 1994|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919000051/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/just-jeffrey-the-child-is-father-to-the-man-todays-lord-archer-is-easily-recognisable-in-the-1416039.html|archive-date=19 September 2016}}</ref> Although Archer enjoyed the local fame this brought him, it caused him to be the victim of bullying while at Wellington School.<ref name=Davies/>

Archer left school with [[O-levels]] in English literature, art, and history. He then spent a few years in a variety of jobs, including training with the army and a short period with the [[Metropolitan Police]].<ref name=Davies/> He later worked as a [[physical education]] teacher, first at Vicar's Hill, a [[Preparatory school (United Kingdom)|preparatory school]] in Hampshire, and later at [[Dover College]] in Kent.<ref name=Jack/>

===Oxford===
In 1963 Archer was offered a place at the [[University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education|University of Oxford Delegacy of Extra-Mural Studies]] to study for a [[Diploma of Education]]. The course was based in the department, and Archer became a member of [[Brasenose College]]. There have been claims that Archer provided false evidence of his academic qualifications to Brasenose, the apparent citing of an American institution which was actually a bodybuilding club, for instance, in gaining admission to the course.<ref name=Davies/><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://sgp1.paddington.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/feature_stories/article_890.asp?s=1 |title=Author of his own Demise |newspaper=[[ninemsn]] |author=Jim Waley |date=22 July 2001 |access-date=20 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706110724/http://sgp1.paddington.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/feature_stories/article_890.asp?s=1 |archive-date= 6 July 2011 }}</ref> It has also been alleged Archer provided false statements about three non-existent [[A-Level]] passes and a U.S. [[university degree]].<ref name=Jeffrey/> Although the diploma course only lasted a year, Archer spent a total of three years at Oxford.<ref name=Davies/> At Oxford, Archer was successful in athletics, competing in sprinting and hurdling, and became president of the Oxford University Athletic Club in 1965/6. His opposite number at [[Cambridge University]], [[Wendell Mottley]] became a lifelong friend.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/76930 | title=Olympedia – Wendell Mottley | access-date=17 April 2024 | archive-date=29 April 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429114023/https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/76930 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Davies/> Television coverage survives of him making [[false start]]s in a 1964 sprint race, but he was not disqualified. He gained a [[Blue (university sport)|blue]] in athletics and went on to run for England, and once competed for Great Britain.<ref name=Jeffrey/> His time of 10.6 seconds for 100 metres is the joint second fastest time by an Oxford University student.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ouac.org/all-time-list#tab-1882246 | title=All Time List | access-date=25 March 2024 | archive-date=25 March 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240325175702/https://www.ouac.org/all-time-list#tab-1882246 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Archer raised money for the charity [[Oxfam]], obtaining the support of [[The Beatles]] in a fundraising drive. The band accepted his invitation to visit the Principal's lodge at Brasenose College, where they were photographed with Archer and dons of the college,<ref name=Brasenose>{{cite web|title=Beatles at Brasenose|url=https://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/news/1222-beatles-at-brasenose|website=www.bnc.ox.ac.uk|publisher=Brasenose College|access-date=22 December 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223114123/https://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/news/1222-beatles-at-brasenose|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> although they did not play there. The critic [[Sheridan Morley]], then a student at [[Merton College, Oxford|Merton]], was present and recalled the occasion:

{{block quote|At the interval I went to the toilet, and there beside me was [[Ringo Starr]]. He asked if I knew this Jeffrey Archer bloke. I said everyone in Oxford was trying to work out who he was. Ringo said: "He strikes me as a nice enough fella, but he's the kind of bloke who would bottle your piss and sell it."<ref name="Kelso"/>}}

==Early career==
After leaving Oxford, Archer continued as a charity fundraiser, initially working for the National Birthday Trust,<ref name=Blackhurst>{{cite news|last1=Blackhurst|first1=Chris|title=Archer's fall: His was a life built on fiction. But in the final chapter, the facts caught up with him|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/archers-fall-his-was-a-life-built-on-fiction-but-in-the-final-chapter-the-facts-caught-up-with-him-9245305.html|access-date=22 December 2015|work=The Independent|date=19 July 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223080220/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/archers-fall-his-was-a-life-built-on-fiction-but-in-the-final-chapter-the-facts-caught-up-with-him-9245305.html|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> a medical charity that promoted safe childbirth, before joining the [[United Nations Association UK|United Nations Association]] (UNA) as its chief fundraiser. The then chairman of the UNA, [[Humphry Berkeley]], alleged that there were numerous discrepancies in Archer's expense claims while he worked at the UNA.<ref name="Kelso"/><ref name=Watkins>{{cite news|last1=Watkins|first1=Alan|title=A charming fraud. Without the charm|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/alan-watkins/alan-watkins-a-charming-fraud-without-the-charm-9215780.html|access-date=22 December 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=21 July 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223072147/http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/alan-watkins/alan-watkins-a-charming-fraud-without-the-charm-9215780.html|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref>

Around this time, Archer began a career in politics, serving as a Conservative councillor for [[Havering (electoral division)|Havering]] on the [[Greater London Council]] (1967–1970).<ref name=Jeffrey/>

Archer set up his own fundraising and public relations company, Arrow Enterprises, in 1969.<ref name=theindependent>{{cite news|last1=Boggan|first1=Steve|last2=Lashmar|first2=Paul|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-accused-jeffrey-archer-the-accusation-perjury-and-a-highly-suspicious-coincidence-698984.html|title=The accused: Jeffrey Archer. The accusation: Perjury (and a highly suspicious coincidence)|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=27 September 2000|access-date=9 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220180607/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-accused-jeffrey-archer-the-accusation-perjury-and-a-highly-suspicious-coincidence-698984.html|archive-date=20 December 2013}}</ref> That same year he opened an art gallery, the Archer Gallery, in [[Mayfair]]. The gallery specialised in modern art, including pieces by the sculptor and painter [[Leon Underwood]]. The gallery ultimately lost money, however, and Archer sold it two years later.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.famousauthors.org/jeffrey-archer|title=Famous Authors: Jeffrey Archer|publisher=famousauthors.org|access-date=9 December 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212222820/http://www.famousauthors.org/jeffrey-archer|archive-date=12 February 2014}}</ref>

==Member of Parliament==
At 29, Archer was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for the [[Lincolnshire]] constituency of [[Louth, Lincolnshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Louth]], holding the seat for the Conservative Party in a [[1969 Louth by-election|by-election]] on 4 December 1969.<ref name=Jeffrey/> Archer beat [[Ian Gow]] to the selection after winning over a substantial proportion of younger members at the selection meeting. The national party had concerns about Archer's selection, specifically relating to the UNA expenses allegations made by Humphry Berkeley, himself a former Conservative MP.  Berkeley tried to persuade the [[Conservative Central Office]] that Archer was unsuitable as a parliamentary candidate.<ref name=Watkins/> Archer brought a defamation action against Berkeley and the story was kept out of the press, although a truncated version of the story did appear in ''The Times''.<ref name=Davies/> The case was eventually settled out of court, with Archer agreeing to pay legal costs of around £30,000.<ref name=Stubley>{{cite news|last1=Stubley |first1=Peter |title=Jeffrey Archer: Shepherds pie and Mayfair tarts |url=http://courtnewsuk.co.uk/c_famous_crime_cases/a_jeffrey_archer/crime_vaults/ |access-date=4 November 2015 |work=Court News UK |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023083605/http://courtnewsuk.co.uk/c_famous_crime_cases/a_jeffrey_archer/crime_vaults |archive-date=23 October 2015 }}</ref>

Louth constituency had three key areas: [[Louth, Lincolnshire|Louth]], [[Cleethorpes]], and [[Immingham]]. During his time as an MP, Archer was a regular at the Immingham Conservative Club in the most working-class part of the constituency. In 1970 he took part in the Kennedy Memorial Test, a 50-mile running/walking race from Louth to [[Skegness]] and back.<ref>{{cite web|title=Archive Listings|url=http://www.lincsfilm.co.uk/listings/listing561580.html|publisher=Lincolnshire Film Archive|access-date=4 March 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402112253/http://www.lincsfilm.co.uk/listings/listing561580.html|archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref>

In [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|parliament]], Archer was on the left of the Conservative Party, rebelling against some of his party's policies. He advocated free [[TV licence]]s for elderly people and was against museum entrance charges.<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1971/jun/21/museums-and-galleries-admission-charges#S5CV0819P0_19710621_HOC_292 "Museum and Galleries (Admission Charges)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427233704/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1971/jun/21/museums-and-galleries-admission-charges |date=27 April 2014 }}, ''Hansard'', HC Deb 21 June 1971, vol 819, cc993-1067, col.1031-4</ref> In 1971, he employed [[David Mellor]] to deal with his correspondence. He tipped Mellor to reach the cabinet. In an interview, in February 1999 Archer said, "I hope we don't return to extremes. I'm what you might call centre-right but I've always disliked the right wing as much as I've disliked the left wing."<ref>{{cite news|title=Lord Archer answers your questions|date=1 February 1999|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/269876.stm|access-date=14 June 2007|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222115831/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/269876.stm|archive-date=22 December 2007}}</ref>

==Financial crisis==
In 1974, Archer was a casualty of a fraudulent investment scheme involving a Canadian company called Aquablast. The debacle lost him his first fortune and left him almost £500,000 in debt.<ref name=Davies/> Warned by ''Daily Mirror'' reporter Revel Barker – whom he misidentified as a fellow Oxford student – that as a [[bankrupt]] he could not be an MP, he announced that he would not be standing in the [[October 1974 United Kingdom general election|October 1974 general election]] "Because of financial difficulties".<ref>The Last Pub In Fleet Street, Palatino, 2015, p. 129.</ref>

While he was a witness in the Aquablast case in Toronto in 1975, Archer was accused of stealing three suits from a department store.<ref>Paul Foot, [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v17/n17/paul-foot/those-suits "Those suits"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427215233/http://www.lrb.co.uk/v17/n17/paul-foot/those-suits |date=27 April 2014 }}, ''London Review of Books'', 7 September 1995.</ref> Archer denied the accusation for many years, but in the late 1990s he finally acknowledged that he had taken the suits, although he claimed that at the time he had not realised he had left the shop.<ref name=Davies/> No charges were ever brought.

==Writing career==
Archer wrote his first book, ''[[Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less]]'', in the autumn of 1974, as a means of avoiding bankruptcy.<ref name=Kelso/> The book was picked up by the [[literary agent]] Deborah Owen and published first in the U.S., then eventually in Britain in the autumn of 1976. A radio adaptation was aired on [[BBC Radio 4]] in the early 1980s and a [[BBC Television]] adaptation of the book was broadcast in 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jeffreyarcher.co.uk/site/biography|title=Jeffrey Archer: Biography|publisher=jeffreyarcher.co.uk|access-date=9 December 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131129191648/http://www.jeffreyarcher.co.uk/site/biography|archive-date=29 November 2013}}</ref>

''[[Kane and Abel (novel)|Kane and Abel]]'' (1979) proved to be his best-selling work, reaching number one on ''[[The New York Times]]'' bestsellers list. Like most of his early work, it was edited by [[Richard Cohen (fencer)|Richard Cohen]], the Olympic fencing gold-medallist.<ref name=Blackhurst/> It was made into a television [[mini-series]] by [[CBS]] in 1985, starring [[Peter Strauss]] and [[Sam Neill]]. The following year, [[Granada TV]] screened a 10-part adaptation of another Archer bestseller, ''[[First Among Equals (novel)|First Among Equals]]'', which told the story of four men and their quest to become prime minister. In the U.S. edition of the novel, the character of Andrew Fraser was eliminated, reducing the number of protagonists to three.<ref name=Books>{{cite web|title=Jeffrey Archer books: First Among Equals|url=http://jeffreyarcher.co.uk/books-and-plays/fiction/first-among-equals/|website=www.jeffreyarcher.co.uk|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223141926/http://jeffreyarcher.co.uk/books-and-plays/fiction/first-among-equals/|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref>

As well as novels and short stories, Archer has also written three stage plays. The first, ''Beyond Reasonable Doubt'', opened in 1987 and ran at the [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]] in [[London's West End]] for over a year.<ref name=Watt>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/mayor/Story/0,,194773,00.html|title=Archer's share deal under scrutiny again|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=30 October 1999|location=London|last=Watt|first=Nicholas|access-date=6 May 2010}}</ref> Archer's next play, ''Exclusive'', opened at the [[Strand Theatre, London]], in September 1989.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kingston |first1=Jeremy |title=Archer's Jaded News |work=[[The Times]] |date=20 September 1989 |location=London |page=13}}</ref> It was not well received by critics, and closed after a few weeks. His final play, ''The Accused'', opened at the Theatre Royal, Windsor on 26 September 2000, before transferring to the [[Theatre Royal Haymarket]] in the West End in December.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jeffrey Archer: plays|url=http://jeffreyarcher.co.uk/plays/|website=www.jeffreyarcher.co.uk|access-date=22 December 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223141459/http://jeffreyarcher.co.uk/plays/|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref>

In 1988, author Kathleen Burnett accused Archer of plagiarizing a story she had written, and including it in his short-story collection, ''[[A Twist in the Tale (book)|A Twist in the Tale]]''. Archer denied he had plagiarized the story, claiming he had simply been inspired by the idea.<ref name="Sherwin">{{cite news|last1=Sherwin|first1=Adam|title=Jeffrey Archer accuses Bollywood of stealing his bestselling storylines|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/jeffrey-archer-accuses-bollywood-of-stealing-his-bestselling-storylines-10085842.html|access-date=22 December 2015|work=The Independent|date=4 March 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223090945/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/jeffrey-archer-accuses-bollywood-of-stealing-his-bestselling-storylines-10085842.html|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref>

While Archer's books are commercially successful, critics have been generally unfavorable towards his writing.<ref name="BBC20010719">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1397356.stm "Lord Archer: A twist to every chapter"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040604075621/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1397356.stm |date=4 June 2004 }}, BBC News, 19 July 2001.</ref> Journalist Hugo Barnacle, writing for ''The Independent'' about ''[[The Fourth Estate (novel)|The Fourth Estate]]'' (1996), thought the novel, while demonstrating that "the editors don't seem to have done any work", was "not wholly unsatisfactory".<ref name=Barnacle>{{cite news|last1=Barnacle|first1=Hugo|title=Maxwell vs Murdoch – the untold story|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/maxwell-vs-murdoch--the-untold-story-1346669.html|access-date=23 December 2015|work=The Independent|date=10 May 1996|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925053313/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/maxwell-vs-murdoch--the-untold-story-1346669.html|archive-date=25 September 2015}}</ref>

Archer has said that he spends considerable time writing and re-writing each book. He goes abroad to write the first draft, working in blocks of two hours at a time, then writes anything up to 17 drafts in total.<ref>John Darnton [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/18/garden/lunch-with-jeffrey-archer-author-s-sweet-revenge-joining-house-lords.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm "At Lunch With: Jeffrey Archer; An Author's Sweet Revenge: Joining the House of Lords"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005101611/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/18/garden/lunch-with-jeffrey-archer-author-s-sweet-revenge-joining-house-lords.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |date=5 October 2017 }}, ''New York Times'', 18 August 1993.</ref> Since 2010, Archer has written the first draft of each new book at his villa in [[Mallorca]], called "Writer's Block".<ref name=Wells>{{cite news|last1=Wells|first1=Emma|title=It's Archer's best plot yet|url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/style/homes_and_gardens/My_Place/article432153.ece|access-date=23 December 2015|work=The Sunday Times|date=31 October 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223140445/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/style/homes_and_gardens/My_Place/article432153.ece|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref>

In 2011, Archer published the first of seven books in ''The Clifton Chronicles'' series, which follow the life of Harry Clifton from his birth in 1920, through to his funeral in 1993. The first novel in the series, ''Only Time Will Tell'', tells the story of Harry from 1920 through to 1940, and was published in the UK on 12 May 2011.<ref name=Horowitz/> The seventh and final novel in the series, ''This Was a Man'', was published on 3 November 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=The final novel in the Clifton Chronicles |url=http://www.jeffreyarcher.co.uk/books-and-plays/fiction/this-was-a-man/ |website=www.jeffreyarcher.co.uk |access-date=5 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044156/http://www.jeffreyarcher.co.uk/books-and-plays/fiction/this-was-a-man/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

''The Short, the Long and the Tall'', an illustrated collection of Archer's short stories, was published in November 2020, with watercolor illustrations by artist Paul Cox.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Short, The Long and The Tall |url=https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/jeffrey-archer/the-short-the-long-and-the-tall/9780230748279 |publisher=Pan Macmillan |access-date=6 October 2020 |archive-date=6 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200906153402/https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/jeffrey-archer/the-short-the-long-and-the-tall/9780230748279 |url-status=live }}</ref>

''Over My Dead Body'' was published in October 2021, and is the fourth book in a series of thrillers featuring detective William Warwick.<ref name="Chandler">{{cite web |last1=Chandler |first1=Mark |title=Macmillan lands Jeffrey Archer series in four-book deal |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/macmillan-snaps-jeffrey-archer-series-four-book-deal-965306 |website=www.thebookseller.com |access-date=5 March 2019 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043426/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/macmillan-snaps-jeffrey-archer-series-four-book-deal-965306 |url-status=live }}</ref> The book was critically acclaimed and became a [[New York Times]] bestseller.

In January 2020 it was reported that Archer had sued his former literary agents, [[Curtis Brown (literary agents)|Curtis Brown]], for £500,000 in unpaid royalties.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Simpson |first1=Craig |title=Jeffrey Archer 'suing former literary agents in High Court over claims he is owed £500,000' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/01/24/jeffrey-archer-suing-former-literary-agents-high-court-claims/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/01/24/jeffrey-archer-suing-former-literary-agents-high-court-claims/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=25 January 2020 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=20 January 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Return to politics==

===Deputy party chairman===
Archer's political career revived in the 1980s, and he became a popular speaker among the Conservative grassroots. He was appointed deputy chairman of the Conservative Party by [[Margaret Thatcher]] in September 1985. [[Norman Tebbit]], party chairman, had misgivings over the appointment, as did other prominent members of the party, including [[William Whitelaw]] and [[Edward Heath]].<ref name=Jeffrey/> During his tenure as deputy chairman, Archer was responsible for a number of embarrassing moments, including his statement, made during a live radio interview, that many young, unemployed people were simply unwilling to find work.<ref name=Jack/> At the time of Archer's comment, unemployment in the UK stood at a record 3.4 million. Archer was later forced to apologise for the remark, saying that his words had been "taken out of context". Archer resigned as deputy chairman in October 1986 due to a scandal caused by an article in ''The [[News of the World]]'', which led with the story, "Tory boss Archer pays vice-girl", and claimed Archer had paid [[Monica Coghlan]], a prostitute, £2,000 through an intermediary at [[London Victoria station|Victoria Station]] to go abroad.<ref name=Davies/>

===''Daily Star'' libel case===
Shortly after ''The News of the World'' story broke, rival tabloid the ''[[Daily Star (United Kingdom)|Daily Star]]'' ran a story alleging Archer had paid for sex with Coghlan, something ''The News of the World'' had been careful to avoid stating directly.<ref name=Davies/> Archer responded by suing the ''Daily Star''.<ref name=defamation>{{cite web|title=Jeffrey Archer v Daily Star (1987): You could write a book about it|url=http://defamationwatch.com.au/?page_id=301|website=www.defamationwatch.com.au|access-date=22 December 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223055432/http://defamationwatch.com.au/?page_id=301|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> The case came to court in July 1987. Explaining the payment to Coghlan as the action of a philanthropist rather than that of a guilty man, Archer won the case and was awarded £500,000 damages.<ref name=Rawnsley>{{cite news|last1=Rawnsley|first1=Andrew|title=Archer wins record £500,000 damages|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1987/jul/25/archer.politics|access-date=22 December 2015|work=The Guardian|date=25 July 1987|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223131420/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/1987/jul/25/archer.politics|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> Archer stated he would donate the money to charity.<ref name=Sengupta>{{cite news|last1=Sengupta|first1=Kim|title=Archer accused of failing to give libel win to charity|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/archer-accused-of-failing-to-give-libel-win-to-charity-9188636.html|access-date=22 December 2015|work=The Independent|date=28 June 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223080308/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/archer-accused-of-failing-to-give-libel-win-to-charity-9188636.html|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> However, this case would ultimately result in Archer's final exit from front-line politics some years later. The description the judge ([[Bernard Caulfield (judge)|Mr Justice Caulfield]]) gave of Mrs Archer in his jury instructions included: "Remember [[Mary Archer]] in the witness-box. Your vision of her probably will never disappear. Has she elegance? Has she fragrance? Would she have, without the strain of this trial, radiance? How would she appeal? Has she had a happy married life? Has she been able to enjoy, rather than endure, her husband Jeffrey?" The judge then went on to say of Jeffrey Archer: "Is he in need of cold, unloving, rubber-insulated sex in a seedy hotel round about quarter to one on a Tuesday morning after an evening at the Caprice?"<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1388341.stm|date=14 June 2001|title=Archer marriage under spotlight|access-date=1 December 2007|publisher=BBC|location=London, UK|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523055745/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1388341.stm|archive-date=23 May 2010}}</ref>

Although the Archers claimed they were a normal, happily married couple, by this time, according to the journalist [[Adam Raphael]], Jeffrey and Mary Archer were living largely separate lives. The editor of the ''Daily Star'', [[Lloyd Turner (journalist)|Lloyd Turner]], was sacked six weeks after the trial by the paper's owner [[Lord Stevens of Ludgate]].<ref name="DTI">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1447018.stm|title=Star demands £2.2m from Archer|work=BBC News|date=19 July 2001|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040718112616/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1447018.stm|archive-date=18 July 2004}}</ref> Adam Raphael soon afterwards found proof that Archer had perjured himself at the trial, but his superiors were unwilling to take the risk of a potentially costly libel case.<ref name=Raphael>{{cite news|last1=Raphael|first1=Adam|title=His guilt was writ large|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jul/22/conservatives.archer|access-date=23 December 2015|work=The Observer|date=22 July 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223151801/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jul/22/conservatives.archer|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> ''The News of the World'' later settled out-of-court with Archer, acknowledging they, too, had libelled him.<ref name=Rawnsley/>

===Kurdish charity and peerage===
When [[Saddam Hussein]] suppressed [[1991 uprisings in Iraq|Kurdish uprisings]] in 1991, Archer, with the [[Red Cross]], set up the charity Simple Truth, a fundraising campaign on behalf of the [[Kurds]].<ref name="ST"/> In May 1991, Archer organised a [[Benefit concert|charity pop concert]], starring [[Rod Stewart]], [[Paul Simon]], [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] and [[Gloria Estefan]], who all performed free of charge. Archer stated that his charity had raised £57,042,000, though it was later reported that only £3 million came from the [[The Simple Truth: A Concert for Kurdish Refugees|Simple Truth concert]] and appeal, the rest from aid projects sponsored by the British and other governments, with significant amounts pledged before the concert.<ref name="ST"/> The charity would later incur further controversy. Having been previously rejected,<ref name="ST">{{Cite news|date=16 August 2001|title=Archer fraud allegations: the simple truth|language=en-GB|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/aug/16/qanda.politics|access-date=13 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427100741/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/aug/16/qanda.politics|archive-date=27 April 2022|first=Matthew|last=Matthew Tempest|location=London|url-status=live}}</ref> Archer was made a [[life peer]] on 27 July 1992 as '''Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare''', ''of [[Mark, Somerset|Mark]] in the [[County of Somerset]]''.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=53005 |date=30 July 1992 |page=12843}}</ref> Prime Minister [[John Major]] recommended him largely because of Archer's role in aid to the Kurds.<ref name="ST"/> Archer and Major had been friends for a number of years.<ref name=Young>{{cite news|last1=Young|first1=Hugo|title=Honest John Major landed his party with Lord Archer|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/nov/23/archer.politics1|access-date=22 December 2015|work=The Guardian|date=23 November 1999|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223131355/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/nov/23/archer.politics1|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref>

===Political statements in 1990s===
In a speech at the 1993 Conservative conference, Archer urged then Home Secretary [[Michael Howard]], to "Stand and deliver," saying: "Michael, I am sick and tired of being told by old people that they are frightened to open the door, they're frightened to go out at night, frightened to use the parks and byways where their parents and grandparents walked with freedom&nbsp;... We say to you: stand and deliver!". He then attacked violent films and urged tougher prison conditions to prevent criminals from re-offending. He criticised the role of "do-gooders" and finished off the speech by denouncing the opposition party's [[Law and order (politics)|law and order]] policies.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Travis|first1=Alan|title=Archer offers advice on penal reform|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/sep/18/archer.conservatives|access-date=3 November 2015|work=The Guardian|date=8 September 2003|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223131424/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/sep/18/archer.conservatives|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> This was a time when Archer was actively seeking another front-line political role.<ref name=DTI3>{{cite news|title=Archer in DTI shares inquiry|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1994/jul/08/archer.politics|access-date=22 December 2015|work=The Guardian|date=8 July 1994|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223131404/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/1994/jul/08/archer.politics|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref>

On ''[[Question Time (TV programme)|Question Time]]'' on 20 January 1994,<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1147225/ ''Question Time'', 20 January 1994] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619082604/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1147225/ |date=19 June 2015 }}, IMDb</ref> Archer said that 18 should be the age of consent for gay sex, as opposed to 21, which it was at the time.<ref name="GuardianQT">[https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/sep/19/question-time-30-years "The guidelines: Question Time turns 30"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091119/http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/sep/19/question-time-30-years |date=4 March 2016 }}, ''The Guardian'', 19 September 2009.</ref> Archer though was opposed to the age of consent for gay men being 16.<ref name="Starkey">Ben Summerskill [https://books.google.com/books?id=ONBzmR_cnQQC&pg=PA99 ''The Way We Are Now: Gay and Lesbian Lives in the 21st Century''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209135203/https://books.google.com/books?id=ONBzmR_cnQQC&pg=PA99 |date=9 December 2017 }}, London: Continuum, 2006, p.99<!-- Google Books say Bloomsbury, but the Continuum logo is on the back cover; copyright page is missing from the preview. --></ref> Historian [[David Starkey]] was on the same edition, and said of Archer: "Englishmen like you enjoy sitting on the fence so much because you enjoy the sensation."<ref name="GuardianQT"/><ref name="Starkey"/> Archer has also consistently been an opponent of a return to capital punishment.<ref>{{cite web|title=Only Time Will Tell (Archer) – Author Bio|url=http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/8636-only-time-will-tell-archer?start=1|publisher=Lit Lovers|access-date=2 July 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714170037/http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/8636-only-time-will-tell-archer?start=1|archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref>

===Allegations of insider dealings===
In January 1994, [[Mary Archer]], then a director of [[Anglia Television]], attended a directors' meeting at which an impending takeover of Anglia Television by MAI, which owned [[Meridian Broadcasting]], was discussed. The following day, Jeffrey Archer bought 50,000 shares in Anglia Television, acting on behalf of a friend, Broosk Saib. Shortly after this, it was announced publicly that Anglia Television would be taken over by MAI. As a result, the shares jumped in value, whereupon Archer sold them on behalf of his friend for a profit of £77,219.<ref name=Watt/> The arrangements he made with the stockbrokers meant he did not have to pay at the time of buying the shares.<ref name="DTI"/>

An inquiry was launched by the [[London Stock Exchange|Stock Exchange]] into possible [[insider trading]]. The [[Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom)|Department of Trade and Industry]], headed by [[Michael Heseltine]], announced that Archer would not be prosecuted due to insufficient evidence. His solicitors admitted that he had made a mistake, but Archer later said that he had been exonerated.<ref name=Watt/>

===London mayoral candidature===
In 1999, Archer had been selected by the Conservative Party as candidate for the [[2000 London mayoral election|London mayoral election of 2000]], with the support of two former Prime Ministers, [[Baroness Thatcher]] and [[John Major]].<ref name="Econ01">[http://www.economist.com/node/705232 "Lord Archer – A taste for fiction"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221061223/http://www.economist.com/node/705232 |date=21 February 2012 }}, ''The Economist'', 19 July 2001.</ref>

On 21 November 1999 the ''[[News of the World]]'' published allegations made by Ted Francis, a former friend, that Archer had committed [[perjury]] in his 1987 libel case. Archer withdrew his candidature the following day.<ref name="Timeline: Stranger than fiction">{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1420132.stm|title=Timeline: Stranger than fiction|date=8 October 2002|work=BBC|location=London, UK|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040701164924/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1420132.stm|archive-date=1 July 2004}}</ref> After the allegations broke, Archer was disowned by his party. Conservative leader [[William Hague]] explained: "This is the end of politics for Jeffrey Archer. I will not tolerate such behaviour in my party."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/archer/article/0,,195732,00.html|title=Disgraced Archer jettisoned by Tories|work=[[The Guardian Unlimited]]|date=23 November 1999|location=London|last=White|first=Michael|access-date=6 May 2010}}</ref> On 4 February 2000, Archer was expelled from the party for five years.<ref name="Timeline: Stranger than fiction"/>

==Perjury trial and imprisonment==

===Trial===
On 26 September 2000, Archer was charged with perjury and [[perverting the course of justice]] during the 1987 libel trial.<ref name=Perjury>{{cite news|title=Archer charged with perjury|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/archer-charged-with-perjury-699019.html|access-date=22 December 2015|work=The Independent|date=25 September 2000|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223090957/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/archer-charged-with-perjury-699019.html|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> Ted Francis was charged with perverting the course of justice.<ref name="Timeline: Stranger than fiction"/> Simultaneously, Archer starred in a production of his own courtroom play ''The Accused'', staged at London's [[Theatre Royal Haymarket]]. The play concerned the court trial of an alleged murderer and assigned the role of jury to the audience, which would vote on the guilt of Archer's character at the end of each performance.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.curtainup.com/accused.html|title=Review&nbsp;— The Accused|date=8 October 2002|publisher=Curtain Up|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051203134041/http://www.curtainup.com/accused.html|archive-date=3 December 2005}}</ref>

The perjury trial began on 30 May 2001, a month after [[Monica Coghlan]]'s death in a road traffic collision.<ref name=Stokes>{{cite news|last1=Stokes|first1=Paul|title=Monica Coghlan killed by robbery car|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1317481/Monica-Coghlan-killed-by-robbery-car.html|access-date=22 December 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=28 April 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224135309/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1317481/Monica-Coghlan-killed-by-robbery-car.html|archive-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> Ted Francis claimed that Archer had asked him to provide a false alibi for the night Archer was alleged to have been with Monica Coghlan.<ref name=Perjury/> Angela Peppiatt, Archer's former personal assistant, also claimed Archer had fabricated an alibi in the 1987 trial. Peppiatt had kept a diary of Archer's movements, which contradicted evidence given during the 1987 trial.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1420933.stm|title=Ted Francis: Archer whistleblower|date=19 July 2001|publisher=BBC|location=London, UK|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324075852/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1420933.stm|archive-date=24 March 2010}}</ref> Andrina Colquhoun, Archer's former mistress, confirmed that they had been having an affair in the 1980s, thus contradicting the claim that he and Mary Archer had been "happily married" at the time of the trial.<ref name=Clough>{{cite news|last1=Clough|first1=Sue|title=My love affair with Archer cooled when he tidied up his private life|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1309221/My-love-affair-with-Archer-cooled-when-he-tidied-up-his-private-life.html|access-date=22 December 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=20 June 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224135249/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1309221/My-love-affair-with-Archer-cooled-when-he-tidied-up-his-private-life.html|archive-date=24 December 2015}}</ref>

Archer never spoke during the trial, though his wife Mary again gave evidence as she had done during the 1987 trial.<ref name="Stanford">{{cite news|last1=Stanford|first1=Peter|title=Mary Archer: 'Jeffrey asked from jail if I wanted a divorce, but I'm not a quitter'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/mary-archer-jeffrey-asked-from-jail-if-i-wanted-a-divorce-but-im/|access-date=26 February 2016|work=The Telegraph|date=19 February 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225214252/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/mary-archer-jeffrey-asked-from-jail-if-i-wanted-a-divorce-but-im/|archive-date=25 February 2016}}</ref> On 19 July 2001, Archer was found guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice at the 1987 trial. He was sentenced to four years' imprisonment by [[Humphrey Potts|Mr Justice Potts]].<ref name=Clough2>{{cite news|last1=Clough|first1=Sue|title=The end: Archer goes to jail|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1334653/The-end-Archer-goes-to-jail.html|access-date=22 December 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=20 July 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211082943/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1334653/The-end-Archer-goes-to-jail.html|archive-date=11 December 2015}}</ref> Francis was found not guilty. Prominent journalists admitted to having accepted Archer's hospitality after he was convicted.<ref name=Rawnsley2>{{cite news|last1=Rawnsley|first1=Andrew|title=Shepherd's pie and shampagne, anyone?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/22/archer.conservatives|access-date=23 December 2015|work=The Observer|date=22 July 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223150559/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/22/archer.conservatives|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref><ref name=Hoggart>{{cite news|last1=Hoggart|first1=Simon|title=Drink the Krug (but avoid the shepherd's pie)|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jul/28/houseofcommons.archer|access-date=23 December 2015|work=The Guardian|date=28 July 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223190048/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/jul/28/houseofcommons.archer|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> Archer's mother had died shortly before he was sentenced and he was released for the day to attend her funeral.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1424501.stm|title=Archer jailed for perjury|date=19 July 2001|publisher=BBC|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522043651/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1424501.stm|archive-date=22 May 2009}}</ref><ref name=McVeigh>{{cite news|last1=McVeigh|first1=Tracy|title=Disgraced Archer back in charge for a few sad hours of freedom|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/22/conservatives.archer|access-date=23 December 2015|work=The Observer|date=22 July 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223235414/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/22/conservatives.archer|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref>

===Prison===
Archer was initially sent to [[HM Prison Belmarsh]], a [[Prison security categories in the United Kingdom|Category "A"]] prison, but was moved to [[HM Prison Wayland]], a Category "C" prison in [[Norfolk]], on 9 August 2001. Despite automatically qualifying as a category "D" prisoner, given it was a first conviction and he did not pose a serious risk of harm to the public, his status as such was suspended pending a police investigation into [[#Kurdish aid controversy|allegations about his Kurdish charity]]. He was then transferred to [[HM Prison North Sea Camp]], an [[open prison]], in October 2001.  From there he was let out to work, briefly, at the [[New Theatre Royal Lincoln|Theatre Royal]] in [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]], and allowed occasional home visits.<ref name=Peachey>{{cite news|last1=Peachey|first1=Paul|title=Dramatic entrance as Archer takes theatre's supporting role|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/dramatic-entrance-as-archer-takes-theatres-supporting-role-174020.ht|access-date=23 December 2015|work=The Independent|date=19 August 2002}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Media reports claimed he had abused this privilege by attending a lunch with a friend, Education Secretary [[Gillian Shephard]].<ref name=Goodchild>{{cite news|last1=Goodchild|first1=Sophie|title=So that's what he was up to when he wasn't out for lunch|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/so-thats-what-he-was-up-to-when-he-wasnt-out-for-lunch-132178.html|access-date=23 December 2015|work=The Independent|date=5 October 2002|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223235509/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/so-thats-what-he-was-up-to-when-he-wasnt-out-for-lunch-132178.html|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> In September 2002 he was transferred to a Category "B" prison, [[Lincoln (HM Prison)|Lincoln]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2283443.stm "Archer moved from open prison"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040704174717/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2283443.stm |date=4 July 2004 }}, BBC News, 26 September 2002</ref> After three weeks, he was moved to the Category "D" [[HM Prison Hollesley Bay]] in Suffolk.<ref>[http://news.sky.com/story/130743/archers-holiday-bay-prison-move "Archer's 'Holiday Bay' Prison Move"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427204859/http://news.sky.com/story/130743/archers-holiday-bay-prison-move |date=27 April 2014 }}, Sky.com, 17 October 2002.</ref>

During his imprisonment, Archer was visited by a number of high-profile friends, including actor [[Donald Sinden]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Donald|first1=Gideon|title=The Nudgeocon|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2009/03/campbell-spiked-britain-archer|access-date=26 April 2017|work=New Statesman|date=26 March 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427101830/http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2009/03/campbell-spiked-britain-archer|archive-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> and entertainer [[Barry Humphries]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/sunday-review/regulars/how-we-met-barry-humprhies--jeffrey-archer-804282.html|last=Eyre| first=Hermione|title=How We Met: Barry Humphries & Jeffrey Archer|date=6 April 2008|work=[[The Independent]]|location=London|access-date=6 May 2010}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In October 2002, Archer repaid the ''Daily Star'' the £500,000 damages he had received in 1987, as well as legal costs and interest of £1.3 million.<ref name=Leonard>{{cite news|last1=Leonard|first1=Tom|title=Archer settles £1.8m libel debt with newspaper|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1408852/Archer-settles-1.8m-libel-debt-with-newspaper.html|access-date=23 December 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=2 October 2002|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224154048/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1408852/Archer-settles-1.8m-libel-debt-with-newspaper.html|archive-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> That month, he was suspended from [[Marylebone Cricket Club]] for seven years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/oct/28/cricket.archer|title=MCC gives Archer out&nbsp;— for seven years|date=28 October 2002|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London, UK|first=Jamie|last=Wilson|access-date=6 May 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002172815/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/oct/28/cricket.archer|archive-date=2 October 2013}}</ref>

On 21 July 2003, Archer was released on licence from Hollesley Bay after serving half of his [[sentence (law)|sentence]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Lord Archer freed from prison|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3082627.stm|access-date=23 December 2015|work=BBC News|date=22 September 2003|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223114010/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3082627.stm|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref>
He remained a peer, there being no legal provision through which his peerage could be removed at the time other than passing a new Act of Parliament.<ref>{{cite news|title=Disgraced Archer may lose peerage|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/20/archer.politics2|access-date=23 December 2015|work=The Guardian|date=20 July 2001|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223151943/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/20/archer.politics2|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> He also retained membership of the House of Lords, which did not then have the power to expel members; however, Archer did not take an active part in parliamentary proceedings until his retirement from the Lords on 4 July 2024. Politically, he was a [[non-affiliated member of the House of Lords]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Cameron snubs Archer's Lords bid|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4472638.stm|access-date=23 December 2015|work=BBC News|date=27 November 2005|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060203153757/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4472638.stm|archive-date=3 February 2006}}</ref>

===Prison diaries===
While in prison, Archer wrote the three-volume memoir ''[[A Prison Diary]]'', with volumes fashioned after [[Divine Comedy|Dante's ''Divine Comedy'']], and named after the first three prisons in which he was kept.<ref name=Howse>{{cite news|last1=Howse|first1=Christopher|title=Cup-a-Soup for the soul|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4729015/Cup-a-Soup-for-the-soul.html|access-date=23 December 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=19 October 2002|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224135242/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4729015/Cup-a-Soup-for-the-soul.html|archive-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> His prison term also served as inspiration for nine of the 12 short stories in the collection ''Cat O' Nine Tales''.<ref>[http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-312-36264-5 "Cat O' Nine Tales and Other Stories"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110045906/http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-312-36264-5 |date=10 November 2013 }}, ''Publishers Weekly'', 16 April 2007</ref>

===Kurdish aid controversy===
In July 2001, shortly after Archer was jailed for perjury, [[Scotland Yard]] began investigating allegations that millions of pounds had disappeared from his Kurdish charity.<ref name="ST"/><ref name="bbc">{{Cite news|title=Archer faces 'missing aid' probe|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1451998.stm|work=[[BBC]]|access-date=18 December 2007|date=23 July 2001|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040626204601/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1451998.stm|archive-date=26 June 2004}}</ref> In 1991, Archer had claimed to have raised £57,042,000.<ref name="ST"/> In 1992, the Kurdish Disaster Fund wrote to Archer, complaining: "You must be concerned that the Kurdish refugees have seen hardly any of the huge sums raised in the west in their name." Kurdish groups claimed that little more than £250,000 had been received by groups in Iraq.<ref name="ST"/>

A [[British Red Cross]]-commissioned [[KPMG]] audit of the cash showed no donations were handled by Archer and any misappropriation was "unlikely"; however, KPMG also could find no evidence to support Archer's claims to have raised £31.5 million from overseas governments. The police said they would launch a "preliminary assessment of the facts" from the audit but were not investigating the Simple Truth fund.<ref name="Ind">{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/audit-concludes-archer-made-up-charity-total-9276513.html|last=Boggan|first=Steve|title=Audit concludes Archer made up charity total|date=24 April 2014|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=3 November 2015|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305025608/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/audit-concludes-archer-made-up-charity-total-9276513.html|archive-date=5 March 2016}}</ref>

==Subsequent incidents==
In 2004, the government of [[Equatorial Guinea]] alleged that Archer was one of the financiers of the [[2004 Equatorial Guinea coup attempt|failed 2004 coup d'état attempt]] against it, citing bank details and telephone records as evidence.<ref name="NEWARCHER">{{Cite news|first=David|last=Pallister|title=New Archer link to coup plot alleged|date=13 October 2004|url=https://www.theguardian.com/equatorialguinea/story/0,,1326040,00.html|work=The Guardian|access-date=22 August 2007|location=London}}</ref> In 2009, Archer said: "I am completely relaxed about it. [[Simon Mann|Mr Mann]] [Simon Mann, the English mercenary leader of the coup] has made clear that it's nothing to do with me." In 2011, Mann, imprisoned in Equatorial Guinea for his role in leading the failed 2004 coup d'état but released on humanitarian grounds later, told ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' that his forthcoming book, ''Cry Havoc'', would reveal "the financial involvement of a controversial and internationally famous member of the British House of Lords in the plot, backed up by banking records." He claimed documents from the bank accounts in [[Guernsey]] of two companies Mann used as vehicles for organising the coup, showed a 'J H Archer' paying $135,000 into one of the firms.<ref>{{cite news|last=Eden|first=Richard|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/8727318/Havoc-as-jailed-mercenary-Simon-Mann-provides-evidence-of-peers-role-in-failed-coup.html|title=Havoc as jailed mercenary Simon Mann provides "evidence" of peer's role in failed coup|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=28 August 2011|access-date=2 October 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831135811/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/8727318/Havoc-as-jailed-mercenary-Simon-Mann-provides-evidence-of-peers-role-in-failed-coup.html|archive-date=31 August 2011}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Archer has been married to [[Mary Weeden]] since July 1966.<ref name=Jeffrey/> They met at Oxford University, where Weeden was studying [[chemistry]] at [[St Anne's College, Oxford|St Anne's College]].<ref name=Grice>{{cite news|last1=Grice|first1=Elizabeth|title=Mary Archer: 'There are worse things in life than adultery'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/sex/8804471/Mary-Archer-There-are-worse-things-in-life-than-adultery.html|access-date=3 November 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=4 October 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224125222/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/sex/8804471/Mary-Archer-There-are-worse-things-in-life-than-adultery.html|archive-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> She went on to specialise in solar power.<ref>{{cite web|title=Darwin College: 17th Annual Lecture Series 2002|url=http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/power/MaryArcher.html|website=www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk|publisher=Darwin College|access-date=4 November 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822010833/http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/power/MaryArcher.html|archive-date=22 August 2008}}</ref>

They have two children: William Archer (born 1972), a theatrical producer,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bobandco.co.uk/about-us/people/william-archer/|title=William Archer profile at Bob&Co|location=London|access-date=1 November 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114100151/http://bobandco.co.uk/about-us/people/william-archer/|archive-date=14 November 2015}}</ref> and [[James Archer (stock trader)|James Archer]] (born 1974), a financial adviser and businessman.

In 1979, the Archers purchased the [[Old Vicarage, Grantchester]],<ref name="Scott2">{{cite news |last1=Scott |first1=Danny |title=At home with Lord and Lady Archer |url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/property-home/article/at-home-with-lord-and-lady-archer-cvncb5b60 |access-date=17 December 2018 |work=The Times |date=4 November 2018 |archive-date=18 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218010827/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/at-home-with-lord-and-lady-archer-cvncb5b60 |url-status=live }}</ref> a house associated with the poet [[Rupert Brooke]]. Every summer, they host a lavish garden party in the grounds to celebrate their wedding anniversary.<ref name=Cusick>{{cite news|last1=Cusick|first1=James|title=The Archers entertain a few close friends . . .|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-archers-entertain-a-few-close-friends-and-a-crowd-of-peers-writers-and-ministers-the-champagne-1414717.html|access-date=22 December 2015|work=The Independent|date=17 July 1994|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223045259/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-archers-entertain-a-few-close-friends-and-a-crowd-of-peers-writers-and-ministers-the-champagne-1414717.html|archive-date=23 December 2015}}</ref> Following the near-bankruptcy of the Aquablast scandal, by the early 1980s, Archer was back in a comfortable financial position and began to hold [[shepherd's pie]] and [[Champagne Krug|Krug]] parties for prominent people at his London [[penthouse apartment|penthouse]], which overlooks the [[River Thames]] and the [[Houses of Parliament]].<ref name=Davies/><ref name=Watkins/>

On 26 February 2006, on [[Andrew Marr]]'s ''[[The Andrew Marr Show|Sunday AM]]'' programme, Archer said he had no interest in returning to front-line politics and would pursue his writing instead.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4752758.stm|title=Archer 'may vote in Lords again'|date=26 February 2006|publisher=BBC|location=London, UK|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614172311/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4752758.stm|archive-date=14 June 2006}}</ref>

==Archer in fiction==
Archer was satirically portrayed as a misunderstood secret agent, saviour of Britain and mankind and "overall thoroughly good chap", by actor [[Damian Lewis]] in the BBC drama ''[[Jeffrey Archer: The Truth]]'' (2002).<ref name=Truth>{{cite news|title=Jeffrey Archer: The Truth |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/archer/ |publisher=BBC |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151213022403/http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/archer/ |archive-date=13 December 2015}}</ref> Scriptwriter [[Guy Jenkin]] explained that "my Jeffrey Archer is the man who has frequently saved Britain over the last 30 years. He's beloved of all women he comes across, all men, all dogs—he's a superhero."<ref name=Truth/> [[Ian Hislop]] and [[Nick Newman]]'s 1994 [[BBC Radio 4]] satirical series ''Gush'' purported to be "written by master storyteller Archie Jeffries".<ref>{{cite web|title=Gush|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2015/02/gush|publisher=BBC|accessdate=2022-05-28|archive-date=28 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528210700/https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2015/02/gush|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the Amazon series (originally a novel by [[Terry Pratchett]] & [[Neil Gaiman]]) [[Good Omens (TV series)|Good Omens]], a reference is made by one of the angels in Aziraphale's bookshop: "Something smells evil." Aziraphale replies, "Oh, that would be the Jeffrey Archer books, I'm afraid."

In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode ''[[Silence in the Library]]'', the Doctor mentions that the Library has whole continents of Jeffrey Archer.

==Works==
Archer has published 42 works, which have been translated into 33 languages, with combined sales of more than 275 million copies.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jeffrey Archer: Publications |url=https://jeffreyarcher.co.uk/wp-content/static/PDF-Flip/index.html |website=JeffreyArcher |access-date=12 August 2021 |archive-date=12 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812123345/https://jeffreyarcher.co.uk/wp-content/static/PDF-Flip/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Kane and Abel series===
*''[[Kane and Abel (novel)|Kane and Abel]]'' (1979)
*''[[The Prodigal Daughter]]'' (1982)
*''[[Shall We Tell the President?]]''<ref>{{cite book|last=Archer|first=Jeffrey|title=Shall We Tell the President?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=95Mu6Ih2umQC&pg=PP6|accessdate=12 August 2021|date=1 April 2011|publisher=Pan Macmillan|location=London|orig-date=1977|isbn=978-0-330-52475-9}}</ref> (1986 - revised edition)

===Clifton Chronicles===
*''[[Only Time Will Tell (novel)|Only Time Will Tell]]'' (2011)
*''[[The Sins of the Father (Jeffrey Archer novel)|The Sins of the Father]]'' (2012)
*''[[Best Kept Secret (novel)|Best Kept Secret]]'' (2013)
*''[[Be Careful What You Wish For (Archer novel)|Be Careful What You Wish For]]'' (2014)
*''[[Mightier Than the Sword]]'' (2015)
*''[[Cometh The Hour]]'' (2016)
*''[[This Was a Man (Jeffrey Archer)|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 (novel)|First Among Equals]]'' (1984)
*''[[A Matter of Honour]]'' (1986)
*''[[As the Crow Flies (novel)|As the Crow Flies]]'' (1991)
*''[[Honour Among Thieves (novel)|Honour Among Thieves]]'' (1993)
*''[[The Fourth Estate (novel)|The Fourth Estate]]'' (1996)
*''[[The Eleventh Commandment (novel)|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 (Archer novel)|Paths of Glory]]'' (2009)
*''Heads You Win'' (2018)

===Short stories/collections===
*''[[A Quiver Full of Arrows]]'' (including "[[Old Love (story)|Old Love]]") (1980)
*''[[A Twist in the Tale (book)|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) Collects ''A Quiver Full of Arrows'', ''A Twist in the Tale'' and ''Twelve Red Herrings''
*''[[To Cut a Long Story Short (book)|To Cut a Long Story Short]]'' (2000)
*''[[Cat O'Nine Tales]]'' (2006)
*''[[And Thereby Hangs a Tale]]'' (2010)
*''The New Collected Short Stories'' (2011) Collects ''To Cut a Long Story Short'', ''Cat O'Nine Tales'', and ''And Thereby Hangs a Tale''
*''The Jeffrey Archer Short Story Challenge Collection'' Editor, Contributor (''Unique'') (2013)
*''Four Warned'' (Quick Reads, 2014) Four shorts stories, all previously published (in ''Twelve Red Herrings'', ''Cat O'Nine Tales'' and ''And Thereby Hangs a Tale'')
*''It Can't Be October Already'' (2017) Single short story (included in ''Cat O'Nine Tales'')
*''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. ''[[A Prison Diary|Hell&nbsp;— Belmarsh]]'' (2002)
*2. ''[[A Prison Diary|Purgatory&nbsp;— Wayland]]'' (2003)
*3. ''[[A Prison Diary|Heaven&nbsp;— North Sea Camp]]'' (2004)

===For children===
*''By Royal Appointment'' (1980)
*''Willy Visits the Square World'' (1980)
*''Willy and the Killer Kipper'' (1981)
*''The First Miracle'' (1994)

==See also==
* [[Jonathan Aitken]]—Archer's contemporary, another Conservative politician imprisoned for perjury
* [[Chris Huhne]]—Liberal Democrat politician, imprisoned for perverting the course of justice

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Crick |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Crick |year=1995 |title=Jeffrey Archer: Stranger than Fiction |location=London |publisher=Hamish Hamilton |isbn=0-241-13360-2 |oclc=34767296}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mantle |first=Jonathan |year=1993 |title=In for a Penny: Unauthorized Biography of Jeffrey Archer |edition=Revised |location=London |publisher=Warner |isbn=978-0751501841 |oclc=28928057}}
* {{Cite book |last=Raphael |first=Adam |year=1989 |author-link=Adam Raphael |title=My Learned Friends: An Insider's View of the Jeffrey Archer Case and Other Notorious Actions |location=London |publisher=W. H. Allen & Co. |isbn=978-1-85227-094-0 |oclc=22628264}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Jeffrey Archer}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Official website|https://jeffreyarcher.com/}}
* {{UK Peer links|parliament=jeffrey-archer/26632|hansard=mr-jeffrey-archer|hansardcurr=|guardian=|publicwhip=Lord_Archer_of_Weston-super-Mare|theywork=lord_archer_of_weston-super-mare|record=|bbc=26632.stm|journalisted=jeffrey-archer}}
* {{C-SPAN|6124}}
* {{Charlie Rose view|3728}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{Guardian topic}}
* {{New York Times topic|new_id=person/jeffrey-archer}}
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2001/archer_trial/default.stm In Depth: Archer Trial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060604013922/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2001/archer_trial/default.stm |date=4 June 2006 }}, bbc.co.uk; accessed 26 November 2015.
* [http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/jeffrey-archer Curtis Brown Literary Agency] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309175657/http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/jeffrey-archer |date=9 March 2016 }}, curtisbrown.co.uk; accessed 26 November 2014.

===Interviews===
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/269876.stm Interview about becoming Mayor of London] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222115831/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/269876.stm |date=22 December 2007 }} at [[BBC News]]
* [http://veronikaasks.wordpress.com/jeffrey-archer Interview with Jeffrey Archer on Veronika Asks]
* [http://www.finndian.com/jeffrey-archer-in-chennai Writing tips from Jeffrey Archer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314012429/http://www.finndian.com/jeffrey-archer-in-chennai |date=14 March 2011 }}
* [http://www.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/article1546185.ece Interview of Jeffrey Archer in the Hindu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024092528/http://www.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/article1546185.ece |date=24 October 2012 }}
* [http://www.euroweeklynews.com/features/144-features/91702-jeffrey-archer-the-sins-of-the-father-interview Jeffrey Archer 'The Sins of the Father' interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417165817/http://www.euroweeklynews.com/features/144-features/91702-jeffrey-archer-the-sins-of-the-father-interview |date=17 April 2012 }}
* [https://www.nfreads.com/interview-with-author-jeffrey-archer/ Interview With Author Jeffrey Archer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919014253/https://www.nfreads.com/interview-with-author-jeffrey-archer/ |date=19 September 2020 }}

{{S-start}}
{{S-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=Sir [[Cyril Osborne]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Louth, Lincolnshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Louth]]|years=[[1969 Louth by-election|1969]] – [[October 1974 United Kingdom general election|1974]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Michael Brotherton]]}}
{{s-prec|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Raymond Plant, Baron Plant of Highfield|The Lord Plant of Highfield]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom|Gentlemen]]'''<br />''Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare'' '''}}
{{s-fol|after=[[Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf|The Lord Woolf]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Jeffrey Archer}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Jeffrey}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:20th-century English novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century English novelists]]
[[Category:Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford]]
[[Category:English crime fiction writers]]
[[Category:British people convicted of perverting the course of justice]]
[[Category:British politicians convicted of crimes]]
[[Category:British sportsperson-politicians]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) life peers|Archer of Weston-super-Mare]]
[[Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II]]
[[Category:English Anglicans]]
[[Category:English perjurers]]
[[Category:Inmates of HM Prison Belmarsh]]
[[Category:Literary peers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the Greater London Council]]
[[Category:People educated at Wellington School, Somerset]]
[[Category:People from Weston-super-Mare]]
[[Category:People from the City of London]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1966–1970]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1970–1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974]]
[[Category:Writers from London]]
[[Category:Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014]]