Upclose with Jeffrey Archer
Known for his internationally best-selling books, his previous career in politics and his three-year imprisonment for perjury, English author Jeffrey Archer is one of the most controversial figures in today’s literary world. With the release of his new book, “Only Time Will Tell,” the first episode of his five-part saga “The Clifton Chronicles” (due to complete in 2016), the energetic 71-year-old sits down with Penny Zhou and talks everything about writing.
HK Magazine: You’ve been to Hong Kong many times. Can you see it as the backdrop for your future stories?
Jeffrey Archer: No. Indian people have asked me “When are you going to write a big Indian novel?”—because I’d sold so many books in India, I mean, 50 million people read “Kane and Abel.” But when you write about people, you’ve got to understand their psyche, background and religion, all that, before you can start the first sentence. So I can write about England and a bit of America, but I wouldn’t dare touch someone else’s culture. I think writers who do that are very brave. You see, if you read a book set in China written by someone who doesn’t know it very well, you’ll see mistakes and that will annoy you. And if you don’t see mistakes, then the writer is doing a great job.
HK: How do you think of your popularity in India?
JA: One thing that’s exciting about India is that the young there are big readers. I went to a bookstore in India to promote this book, and the average age of my fans is 25, and there’re even 12, 14-year-olds. It’s amazing. They’re the most ambitious nation on earth, other than perhaps the Mainland Chinese. They want to achieve, and they’ve worked it out.
HK: How did you come up with the idea for “The Clifton Chronicles?”
JA: It’s a series that takes place from 1920 to 2020, about a boy named Harry Clifton and a hundred years of his life, seen through many people’s eyes. I rewrote “Kane and Abel” two years ago. I didn’t change the story, but I think after 30 years my craftsmanship is better—I wrote another 27,000 words but the whole book is 70,000 words shorter. So after I did this I thought I could really do something big now, like going for a hundred years.
HK: Is the story largely based on your own experiences of living in Bristol?
JA: Yes. I thought I’d go back to my roots and write about the West Country, which I know well. So I basically took advantage of the knowledge I had—some real names got in and they are based on people I knew. I mean, why invent totally new human beings? The shock’s been that Bristol now wants a big event—“Walk Where Harry Clifton Walked,” go to his school and all that—they want to take advantage of this.
HK: Is it true that you wrote 14 drafts for “Only?” How did you manage to do that in a year?
JA: Yes, 14, and even between the 13th and the final drafts, you’d still see obvious differences. So things were still changing even in the last moment. I work very hard. I rise at five thirty in the morning, start writing at six. I will work for two hours, take a two-hour break, and repeat it again and again for the rest of the day till I go to bed at nine thirty. I take breaks between the writing. The first draft takes eight weeks; then I take a month off. But do I have fun when I’m writing? Never. There’s no substitute for hard work. It also requires a great amount of energy, and that is a talent and frankly good luck.
HK: Do you think you have limits?
JA: Gosh, I’ve never thought about that. Well, I’m incapable of opening the batting in cricket. I’d love to, but I just can’t. In terms of writing, one doesn’t know one’s own limits. You just have to test them all the time and push yourself all the time. I always want to go another yard.