Daijiworld Media Network - London

London, Oct 6: British bestselling novelist and former politician Jeffrey Archer, whose career included both literary success and a high-profile conviction for perjury, has died aged 86, his publisher HarperCollins said on Monday.

Archer sold more than 300 million books worldwide and was best known for fast-paced thrillers including his 1976 debut Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less and the 1979 bestseller Kane & Abel. His final novel, Adam and Eve, is scheduled for publication on Tuesday.

Kate Elton, HarperCollins' UK chief executive and Archer's editor, said the publishing house was "devastated" by the loss of a writer who had brought joy to generations of readers and had also been a true friend.

Archer was also a prominent Conservative politician. He briefly served as a lawmaker before becoming a senior party official under then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the mid-1980s.

His political career was later overshadowed by a major legal scandal. In 1987, Archer sued the Daily Star after the tabloid alleged that he had paid a woman for sex. He won £500,000 in damages, then a record amount in a libel case.

The case returned to the spotlight in 1999 after Archer was selected as the Conservative candidate for the post of London's first elected mayor. A former friend subsequently accused him of lying about the circumstances surrounding the case.

Archer was later charged with perjury and perverting the course of justice. He was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison, serving two years. During his imprisonment, he wrote A Prison Diary.

His original libel trial became particularly notorious for the judge's comments while summing up evidence given by Archer's wife, Mary Archer.

Despite the scandal, Archer's literary career continued to flourish. HarperCollins said his books were published in 119 countries and that he had spent a total of five-and-a-half years on The New York Times bestseller lists.

Archer had recently been promoting Adam and Eve and was due to speak about the novel this weekend at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. He had also appeared on radio programmes to discuss the book.

HarperCollins said Archer died suddenly and peacefully "between writing sessions."