In Bengaluru to promote This Was a Man (Pan MacMillan), the concluding instalment of The Clifton Chronicles , Jeffrey Archer says, “seven books were just right.” The 76-year-old author of popular novels such as First Among Equals and Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less embarked on an ambitious project to write a book series in 2011. Starting with “Only Time Will Tell” set in 1920, The Clifton Chronicles follows Harry, a working class boy, through the ups and downs of his life even as momentous events are shaping the world. In a quick chat before heading out to Crossword bookstore at VR Bengaluru for the usual rock-star book launch, the peer talks about writing a series, his love for cricket, India and more. Excerpts.
How does it feel to write the concluding chapter of The Clifton Chronicles ?
It feels very strange — sad at one level as I have lived with these characters for seven years and also relief. I have not tied up all loose ends. There should be some, for the reader to figure out.
You had said it was to be a five part series…
At the end of the fourth book, Be Careful What You Wish For , Harry is only 44, there was a lot more to cover. Five books would have been too little and eight would have been too much. Seven books are just right. When I began to write the series, I had no idea what was going to happen. I knew I was nearing the end with This Was A Man , but there is a huge twist, which we are begging people not to reveal.
There is no keeping Lady Virginia down! Each time you think she has been comprehensively defeated, she bounces back with a new scheme…
Lady Virginia has tremendous verve and is a great fan favourite. Actually I was going to make her irrelevant in the second book but there were so many emails from fans asking what happened to her that I kept her. And so here she is in This Was A Man more evil than ever!
How much do fans dictate your work?
Not much in practical terms, but in the case of wicked Lady Virginia for instance, I took the fans’ interest into account.
There isn’t much music of the time in the novel. Why is it so?
Theatre is my first love, then art so yes there is a lot of theatre, art and cricket in the novel and not much music.
Does cricket lend itself well to writing?
Yes it does, while writing about cricket, you need to know a lot as there a lot of people who know much more than you do. I would not write a whole novel centred around cricket as no one will buy it in America and I like to be Number 1.
Who will win the current test series between India and England?
Whoever wins the toss.
Harry finds success with his Inspector William Warwick series but wants to write a literary novel, his magnum opus. Do you believe that detective fiction cannot be literary even if Hamlet and Oedipus Rex could be looked at as whodunits and Macbeth as a crime thriller?
Detective fiction rarely rises above the genre. J.K. Rowling’s detective stories have done well but not so well. There have been queries about an Inspector Warwick series and I am thinking about it. However, I do not want to start a detective series at this stage of my life.
What next?
My collections of short stories will be out next March and then I plan to write a big, epic book along the lines of Kane and Abel.
What do you think is the reason for your superstar status in India?
The easy answer would be you all know I love India and cricket and my fans like a good storyteller. This morning when I went to Christ University, the way the young people were screaming for an author, mind you, and not a rock star was heartening. It means that young people still read. I love India because the people are gentle, philosophical and there is cricket. I believe there is mutual understanding between countries that play cricket.
