‘I’ll live to 86’: Jeffrey Archer said a year ago

Bestselling British novelist Jeffrey Archer, who had recently predicted he would live to 86, passed away at the age of 86 on Monday. His final novel, Adam & Eve, was set for publication on Tuesday, October 6, creating a fascinating coincidence in the end of his writing career spanning five decades. Archer's publishers had previously urged him to accelerate the project, but he insisted on completing the eight-book William Warwick series first.

Inspired by the wartime rivalry between Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill, Archer's Adam & Eve follows two fictional characters born on Armistice Day in 1918 and their connection to pivotal events in World War II. The novel begins on November 11, 1918, and explores what might have happened if Hitler hadn't changed his mind about Operation Sea Lion on September 15, 1940.

Despite not being a conventional historical biography, Adam & Eve revolves around a counterfactual question and Archer's own invention. Archer's decision to end the William Warwick series and focus on his final novel reflects his intention to bring his major storylines to a natural close.