British novelist and former Conservative MP Jeffrey Archer has died aged 86, his publishers have said.
Baron Archer, of Weston-super-Mare, died “suddenly and peacefully” at home on Monday, between writing sessions, according to Harper Collins.
The author, who has sold more than 300 million books worldwide, had been signing books and meeting fans until the day before his death, when he appeared at a sold out event at the Leicester Square Theatre in London.
His final book, Adam and Eve, is being published globally on Tuesday by HarperCollins.
Baron Archer remains the only author to have ever achieved a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller in fiction, as well as in short stories and non-fiction.
The author also served as the Conservative MP for Louth, Lincolnshire, from 1969 to 1974. He initially began his political career as a councillor before winning the Louth by-election aged 29, making him one of the youngest MPs in the House of Commons at the time.