My biggest vice is envy: Jeffrey Archer

At 76, Jeffrey Archer can give most septuagenarians a run for their money. In Mumbai as part of the four-city tour for the promotion of the final volume in his seven-part Clifton Chronicles series, This Was A Man, the author is just as energetic and upbeat as he was in the morning when he started giving media interviews, as he is in the evening. “That’s just my nature,” he tells us, in a quick interview we manage to grab in the car, while on the way from his hotel in Bandra to the Crossword bookstore at Kemp’s Corner, where he is heading to meet his fans. 

Since Mumbai and Delhi have always been a part of his book tours, we can’t help but ask him which city he likes more. “They are both really different. It’s like asking me to choose between Dravid and Laxman!,” exclaims the man, who once called himself ‘a mad, mad, mad lover of the game’. But on asking him to choose between cricket and writing, pat comes the answer, “Writing!” As we cross the Bandra-Worli sealink in all its sunset glory, Archer continues to answer our questions in his trademark witty style. Excerpts from the conversation: 

Kane and Abel was your first series with three books and Clifton Chronicles had seven books…
Actually, Kane and Abel was one book. I, later, cheated a bit and added two more books to make it a series. So no, I would say this was the first time I sat down and wrote a series. 

Was it a challenge to keep the readers hooked on to the books?
Yes, it was a challenge and a fascinating one at that, but it was never a problem, no. 

Who’s your most favourite character from the Clifton Chronicles?
Probably Lady Virginia. Certainly, the public agree with me. They either love her or hate her. 

Who would love her? 
Who loves Trump? But then 33 per cent women voted for him despite what he said. So, you needn’t worry about Lady Virginia, she’s doing fine! (laughs)
The books felt quite auto-biographical, specially the way the characters have been written…
Oh yes, it’s very autobiographical. Harry is me with a bit of Giles. My wife is Emma, my mother is Macy and I’m not telling who Lady Virginia is! (laughs) She’s a wicked person but a great fighter, she doesn’t give in. 

Harry has a habit of showing the first draft of his book to three people close to him. Who are the people who read your first draft?
Nobody really. I have an editor who is an American lady, 72-73 years old, who has been advising me for many years. She reads the book and talks to me, and no one sees it other than her for at least two drafts. Then it goes to my agent who gives his opinion, and then it goes to the publisher. 

What about your wife, Mary?
She gets it last, because I prefer it that way. I like her to see the finished work. 

We know you love India. There are often Indian characters in your books or names and places. Have you ever thought about writing a book on India?
I don’t have enough knowledge. There are so many great Indian writers who have written with such competence about their country, that I’m not going to tread on that territory. I have enough knowledge for a short story or an incident in a major book but I don’t have enough knowledge for a whole book. 

Your first book, Not A Penny More, Not a Penny Less came out in 1976. Have you ever faced a writer’s block in these four decades?
Never! The Gods have been very kind. 

Why have there not been any 
Jeffrey Archer movies?
That’s a jolly good question. I’ve had three mini-series - Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, First Among Equals and Kane and Abel. But I’ve had dozens of options. I’m waiting very patiently for a film or for Clifton Chronicles becoming a mini-series.

Wouldn’t you want a Jeffrey Archer movie, the way we have movies made of Dan Brown novels? Who would you want to direct them?
Yes, I would. I like Bruce Beresford, the Australian director who did Driving Miss Daisy. Doug Liman, the Bourne Identity director is chasing me. I’ve had two conversations with him, but I’ll believe it when I see it. 

What’s your biggest virtue and your biggest vice?
Loyalty is probably my biggest virtue. I’m very loyal to my friends and they are equally loyal to me, which is equally important. My biggest vice is envy. I’m envious of anybody who plays cricket for England!