Mumbai stars in my next tale: Jeffrey Archer

Lord Jeffrey Archer shares his thoughts with Spicezee.com’s Shashank Chouhan on Dr Manmohan Singh and reveals he is working on a story based in India.

Not a penny more, not a penny less is not just the debut novel of Lord Jeffrey Archer, it also aptly describes his body of work which is complete ‘paisa wasool’ stuff. His racy fiction has enthralled readers around the world for decades now and the former politician and life peer has not given up; his quiver is still full of arrows. The Landmark Jeffrey Archer Tour, that brought the maverick writer to various Indian cities on the occasion of the launch of his much awaited novel ‘Paths of Glory,’ was his second consecutive visit to the country which boasts of his work being published in Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.

‘Paths of Glory’ is Jeffrey’s fiction attempt to unlock the mystery of whether the English mountaineer George Mallory was the first person ever to summit the Mt Everest - something, if true, is bound to disappoint many Edmund Hillary-Tensing Norgay fans. But Archer is known to court controversies with aplomb- he was jailed for fraud once. In an exclusive interview with Spicezee.com’s Shashank Chouhan, the former Conservative Party MP shares his thoughts on Dr Manmohan Singh and reveals he is working on a story based in India… Excerpts: Shashank: You seem to be the most controversial writer-politician of the 20th century… Jeffrey: Well, what do I say... I am an ambitious person by nature, and most of my writings also reflect themes of success and failure. I entered politics because I thought I could make a difference and I was voted in as MP when I was touching 30, so entering politics was a conscious decision that I made. Shashank: Is Indian literature being more noticed and appreciated now in the West? Jeffrey: Yes, it is Shashank:You also promoted Prisoner of Birth in India- is the market here that good? And do you get stunned by the response you get from people here? Jeffrey: Yes, this is my 5th visit to India and my experience in each visit has been great! The last year Landmark book stores invited me for a 5-city tour and that’s the time I had launched Prisoner of Birth. It was a huge success in India and this year as well when they approached me I had just completed Paths of Glory and its No. 1 in the best sellers list. The response that I get for each store, every time that I come, is huge and overwhelming. Shashank:You are in India at a crucial juncture. Do you think it could be a basis for a plot? Jeffrey: The general election here has been decided, and it has turned out to be a surprise for the Indian nation. They had feared that several parties would have to join together in order to form a government, which always ends up in compromise, with projects that shouldn`t be considered reaching the top of the pile. To everyone`s surprise, the Congress Party had a triumphant victory and the former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has been re-elected, despite being 77 years old. He is expected to govern for at least another 2 or 3 years while they prepare the young Rahul Gandhi (aged 38), grandson of Indira Gandhi - contrary to what I read in one English newspaper this morning which reported that the PM would only stand for a few weeks. This is drivel. Age is no set-back in India. The leader of the Opposition is 82. Can we learn something from this? The Gandhi dynasty continues on, as Rahul`s mother, Sonia, is chairman of the Party and the two of them are widely credited for organising a brilliant campaign. The stock market shot up 20 percent and there is a feeling in India that this is their decade. The largest demographic is of those between the ages of 20 and 30; they don`t have an ageing population, but a young, vibrant, and well educated one. Perhaps more important, their banks are not collapsing; their wise old PM, an economist by training, passed a law prohibiting banks loaning to people who couldn`t offer 100% collateral. As far as writing on Indian theme goes, my new book which is a 12 series short stories slated for a 2010 release has the first one which is plot based on a love story of two very famous people I met in Mumbai. I have met them both separately and then together and have got a beautiful story from their end. Shashank: Many people- especially in this part of the world- may be offended, seeing glory being taken away from Edmund Hillary… Jeffrey: George Mallory died on Everest in 1924, 29 years before Hillary climbed the world`s tallest peak with the Nepali, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. Mallory was last spotted a few hundred meters below the summit and died shortly afterwards. He had promised his wife that he will leave a picture of hers at the top. When they found his body in 1999 and they took the wallet out, there was no photograph, so it is possible that George Mallory was the first to stand at the top of Mount Everest. Shashank: You are a doyen of English fiction, but your latest is based on reality. How different or challenging was it? Jeffrey: I was interested in the story of George Mallory because he was a fascinating man. I first got interested in writing about him around six-seven years ago when I got talking about him with a friend. Then I did extensive research on Mallory`s life by reading books about him and meeting his close family and friends; so I could write the book over the past two years. In fact, I made sure that George`s son John and his son George Mallory II also read the first copies of the book; they found it to be accurate in terms of the facts represented. Shashank: And there is a riveting sub-plot- the Royal Geographical Society didn’t let George Finch go on expedition. It could be a precursor to another controversy! Jeffrey: Yes, that’s very true. They didn’t have him go as he was an Australian and also a divorcee!!! Shashank: One would consider their acclaimed work as sanctimonious and you are re-writing Kane & Abel?! Jeffrey: I wanted to look at it after 30 years and I thought maybe I`ll put a tweak here and a tweak there. The new Kane and Abel will come out on October 3. We will announce the book`s release in Britain in a day or two. It is because of what India did to my book that I wanted the Indian readers to be the first to hear about it. Initially I thought `Kane and Abel` would take two or three weeks to `tweak`. Instead, it took me 500 hours spread over nine months to re-work the text. The plot hasn`t changed, but I think it`s better crafted now after 30 years of writing.`` Shashank: Your record is a book a year- is that too much for creative juices to continue flowing? Jeffrey: Thankfully I have never had writers block! Shashank: Is there anything else you would want to do apart from writing, playing politics etc.? Doing Bollywood films? Jeffrey: My books cover a wide range of themes and introduce characters from all walks of life. However, there is almost always a character in my novels that has - or develops - a love of art. In this way, art certainly imitates life for me as I am an avid art collector. I have been collecting art for over 30 years, and my personal collection includes works by artists such as Picasso, Mir, Hockney, Dufy, Bonnard, Warhol and Sisley, as well as seven paintings by Vuillard and five by Lowry. I buy what I like - I`ve got a little picture by Lowry that I bought 20 years ago. I bought it because... I just fell in love with it. Shashank: And any plans of joining the Samajwadi Party as you said at one of your interactions? Jeffrey: Yes I am doing that! Actually, I have many factors in my favour. My books are published in six Indian languages, so I am half-Indian. And I am not too old as well for the chair! Also as someone pointed out to me, you do not mind people of foreign nationality rising to power in politics here! On second thoughts, it wouldn`t be a bad proposition at all. India is developing exceptionally fast and it could be exciting to lead it. I wanted to be the Prime Minister of England but failed. Now may be I should try my luck here. On a serious note, India is performing very well. While in England, the financial system, the banks, are collapsing, here, your Prime Minister, who is an economist by training, has done a good job of keeping the money churning. Your banks are working fine. That`s an achievement. Shashank: Whats your next book? Jeffrey: A set of short stories called ‘And Thereby Hangs a Tale’.