LONDON (AP) — Frederick Forsyth, the British author of “The Day of the Jackal” and other bestselling thrillers, has died after a brief illness, his literary agent said Monday. He was 86.
Jonathan Lloyd, his agent, said Forsyth died at home early Monday surrounded by his family.
“We mourn the passing of one of the world’s greatest thriller writers,” Lloyd said.
Born in Kent, in southern England, in 1938, Forsyth served as a Royal Air Force pilot before becoming a foreign correspondent. He covered the attempted assassination of French President Charles de Gaulle in 1962, which provided inspiration for “The Day of the Jackal,” his bestselling political thriller about a professional assassin.
Published in 1971, the book propelled him into global fame. It was made into a film in 1973 starring Edward Fox as the Jackal and more recently a TV series starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch.
In 2015, Forsyth told the BBC that he had also worked for the British intelligence agency MI6 for many years, starting from when he covered a civil war in Nigeria in the 1960s.
Related Articles
Edmund White dies at 85; author of best-selling ‘A Boy’s Own Story’ was a pioneer of gay literature What to know about fatal shooting of ‘King of the Hill’ actor Jonathan Joss as co-stars pay tribute Harrison Ruffin Tyler dies at 96; he was the last living grandchild of President John Tyler Renée Victor, the voice of no-nonsense Abuelita in ‘Coco,’ dies at her California home Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner who played Houlihan on pioneering TV series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ has died at 87Although Forsyth said he did other jobs for the agency, he said he was not paid for his services and “it was hard to say no” to officials seeking information.
“The zeitgeist was different,” he told the BBC. “The Cold War was very much on.”
He wrote more than 25 books including “The Afghan,” “The Kill List,” “The Dogs of War” and “The Fist of God” that have sold over 75 million copies, Lloyd said.
His publisher, Bill Scott-Kerr, said that “Revenge of Odessa,” a sequel to the 1974 book “The Odessa File” that Forsyth worked on with fellow thriller author Tony Kent, will be published in August.
“Still read by millions across the world, Freddie’s thrillers define the genre and are still the benchmark to which contemporary writers aspire,” Scott-Kerr said.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Frederick Forsyth dies at 86; British author wrote acclaimed thrillers, including ‘Day of the Jackal’ )
Also on site :