“Is it true that your wife writes the books that come out in your name?”
“Why does India not feature in your books?”
These were some of the questions lobbed at Jeffery Archer, author of best selling novels such as Kane & Abel, Shall We Tell The President and The Prodigal Daughter, who was in Lucknow last month on an India tour to promote his latest novel A Prisoner of Birth (March 2008).
Archer, who took to writing fiction perforce to pay off accumulated debts and debuted with Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less in 1976 which made him an overnight success, says he’s been “humbled” by his Indian experience (besides Lucknow he launched A Prisoner of Birth in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Chennai). To highlight the Indian spirit of informed entrepreneurship he recounted how a street peddler tried to sell him his latest book while hundreds of fans waited for him at a bookstore to formally release his latest oeuvre. “Apparently being successful and famous is not just about being on the bestseller lists,” he said wryly.
Although Archer’s novels — noted for their simplifications and breathless narrative style — are routinely panned by high brow book reviewers, the celebrated author with a proven global readership is unfazed. “Thirty years ago when I was No. 1 on the New York Times’ bestsellers list, Graham Greene and Sir C.P. Snow were ranked second and third. Today I am still No. 1 or thereabouts, while the spots below are occupied by chick lit authors,” he glowed.
Elaborating on his modus operandi and choice of stories to tell, this former British MP, who has also written non-fiction stage and screenplays, says that he likes to tell simple tales. “People like once-upon-a-time type of stories. Almost everybody likes stories of the triumph of the underdog against huge odds and obstacles,” he says. Responding to allegations that his wife Mary does most of his writing, Archer attributes these “myths” to “jealous and stupid people”. “A Prisoner of Birth required 1,000 hours of writing and 17 drafts before being finalised to my satisfaction,” he says.
During the crowded two-hour interaction with his fans in Lucknow, Archer commented briefly on his prison term of two years (2001-02) for perjury and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. “It is pointless having regrets. Turn a bad situation to your advantage. That is the key to success,” he advised citing his prison diaries titled Hell, Purgatory and Heaven which have been transformed into commercial advantage.
Next on Archer’s agenda is another novel of which he has written just four words. Judging by his productivity, the remaining 196,996 words or thereabouts won’t be a long time coming.
Vidya Pandit (Lucknow)