In the last week of 2021, Lord Jeffrey Archer travelled from his home in London to his writing den in Mallorca, Spain. The writer of iconic books like Kane and Abel, Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less, A Prisoner of Birth, Paths of Glory and many, many more, took time out from working on the 12th draft of his next novel to chat with My Kolkata.
A few of Jeffrey Archer's many bestsellers
Tell us your books that came out in 2021…
I had two books come out this year, they’re William Warwick novels — Turn a Blind Eye and Over My Dead Body. They are the third and fourth in the William Warwick series. I had the advantage of lockdown. Lockdown is a terrible thing and harmed many of my friends, but ironically, if you’re a writer, there’s nothing to stop you getting on with your job.
Archer with the third book of the 'William Warwick' series, 'Turn a Blind Eye' Pan Macmillan
What’s the nicest thing someone said about your books in 2021?
There have been 12,000 reviews so far in England [of the Willian Warwick series], but the one that touched me most was a lady who wrote and said about a scene, ‘My heart stopped beating.’
Your standout read of 2021?
I read a lot of what I call old masters. I am currently reading a man called Miklós Bánffy, who’s known as the ‘Hungarian Tolstoy’. I am reading a set of short stories by him and they are quite outstanding.
A book you didn’t finish, even in 2021…
(Laughs). Too many (laughs more). There are some you feel guilty about, and I say that because I can’t seem to be able to finish James Joyce. Finnegans Wake gets me! I try very, very hard but… oh it’s a struggle. Do you want me to say more? No. You know, it’s very hard to be unkind about another author.
James Joyce's 'Finnegans Wake'
James Joyce seems to be a popular ‘unpopular’ choice! Only yesterday the Indian writer Ruskin Bond told us that he just cannot get through Joyce’s Ulysses….
(Laughs) It’s genius. But, I’ve never finished it.
What did Santa Claus bring you this Christmas?
Well, the problem with being 81 is you’ve pretty well got everything you want in life. But my sister Elizabeth bought me a book on the Barnes Collection. Now, the Barnes Collection in Philadelphia is considered one of the truly great art collections on earth. It’s one of the all-time great collections. She bought me the book on the collection for Christmas.
If 2021 was a book, it’d be called?
Never-ending.
What book did you work on in 2021?
I’ve attempted to rewrite The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It’s a rewrite set in the modern day. That will be coming out in September next year. It’s a modern Christmas Carol, with all the characters — Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Wilkins and Tiny Tim — but it’s set in 2021. It’s not a full book, it’s what I would call a novella.
'The Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens
What about the next one in the William Warwick series? Surely you wrote that too?
Yes! I am on the 12th draft. I am having a terrible trouble with the title, for the first time in my life, I haven’t got a title this late [into the book]. Which is ironic, because the book is coming after I’ve already got a title.
Do you want to share with us the options? One of the readers of My Kolkata might have a bright idea…
It would be wonderful if one of your readers had a bright idea! The one in the lead at the moment is ‘A Law Unto Themselves’. The other one is ‘A Royal Flush’. In this book, Ross Hogan, William Warwick’s No. 2, is put in charge of protecting Princess Diana.
[Any My Kolkata reader with a ‘bright idea’ can tweet to him at @Jeffrey_Archer or leave a comment on Instagram at @jeffrey_archer_author. Don’t forget to tag @mykolkata!]
'It would be wonderful if one of your readers had a bright idea,' said Archer Amit Roy/TT archives
When you say you are working, what are you actually doing?
I don’t understand this question! Because I do work when I say I am working! I don’t stop. It’s partly because I am so old I am frightened of not finishing what I am doing.
Did you make a New Year's resolution?
I have, for a long time now, been very aware how lucky I am, how privileged, particularly in India, where millions of people read my book and treat me so kindly. I am thankful. I am very, very grateful for so many people’s kindness.
As far as a New Year resolution goes, well, I intend to captain the England cricket team. They need me at the moment. I am the obvious choice. I can’t bat, bowl or field but don’t let that put anyone off (laughs)!
Archer, a serious cricket fan, feels the beleaguered England team might 'need me at the moment'. Above, Archer with former India cricketer and coach Ravi Shastri @RaviShastriOfc/Twitter