Author Information:

Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is the author of a number of books, has raised considerable sums for charities, is a former MP and was Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. He was born in the City of London Maternity Hospital and most of his childhood was spent in the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare. He attended Wellington School, Somerset (and not as some have claimed he liked to imply, the more prestigious Wellington College, Berkshire). After leaving school with few qualifications, he worked in a number of jobs, including training with the Army and the Police, and working as a teacher. He gained a place at Brasenose College, Oxford to study for a one-year diploma in education, though he eventually stayed there for three years. Archer very often takes his characters from the upper classes of the UK or New England, discussing mannerisms and sensitivities from that layer of society. The majority of his works are set in the USA, though his characters tend to use British grammar. He takes considerable poetic liberty when intertwining the lives of two parallel heroes (Kane and Abel, Sons of Fortune), or the hero and villain (As the Crow Flies, First Among Equals). These works have an epic character and span a number of decades, often with parallel storylines taking an event from different perspectives. Many heroes suffer reproductive problems (As the Crow Flies), or lose their only children (First Among Equals, Sons of Fortune), adding dramatic effect. His "non-epic" works (A Matter of Honour, a chase story, and Shall We Tell the President?, a detective thriller) are usually set within a much shorter timeframe and have fewer characters.