London, Oct. 6 -- Best-selling British novelist and former politician Jeffrey Archer has died at the age of 86, his publisher HarperCollins announced. Archer died "suddenly and peacefully" at his home on Monday, October 5, between writing sessions.

Archer, one of Britain's most widely read authors, sold more than 300 million books worldwide during a writing career spanning five decades. He was best known for international bestsellers including Kane and Abel, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less and the Clifton Chronicles.

His death came just one day before the scheduled release of his final novel, Adam & Eve, which was due to be published on October 6. The novel was described as the concluding work of his long fiction-writing career.

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