Frederick Forsyth published 'The Day of the Jackal' in 1972. Photo / Getty Images
The author Frederick Forsyth has died at the age of 86.
A statement released by his literary agent, Curtis Brown, said that he died at home after a brief illness surrounded by his family.
The British writer, who was one of the youngest ever RAF pilots and a former journalist, published more than 25 books.
His novels, which include The Day of the Jackal, have sold more than 75 million copies.
Forsyth’s agent, Jonathan Lloyd, said: “We mourn the passing of one of the world’s greatest thriller writers.
“Only a few weeks ago I sat with him as we watched a new and moving documentary of his life – In My Own Words, to be released later this year – and was reminded of an extraordinary life, well lived.”
Lloyd described how the author had used “his gift for languages in German, French and Russian” to become a foreign correspondent in Biafra.
“Appalled at what he saw and using his experience during a stint as a Secret Service agent, he wrote his first and perhaps most famous novel,” the agent added.
That novel, The Day of the Jackal, was published in 1972 and propelled Forsyth to the status of a global bestselling author.
It has since been adapted into a film and more recently, a TV series starring Eddie Redmayne.
The popular novel remains the first and most enduring of his 16 thrillers and follows a hired assassin who targets Charles de Gaulle, the French President.
The TV adaptation marked the third to reach the screen, following one fronted by Edward Fox in 1973, and another that Forsyth disowns, with Bruce Willis in 1997.
Lloyd said: “He will be greatly missed by his family, his friends, all of us at Curtis Brown and of course his millions of fans around the world - though his books will of course live on forever.”
The acclaimed writer was only 17 when he joined the RAF and later, when he was a journalist, worked in Paris and East Berlin at the height of the Cold War.
He previously told the Telegraph that he had “good luck to be able to turn lots of that [experience] into books” but that he had “no lust to be 90”.
He wrote in the newspaper six years ago, when he was aged 80: “So, unless I go completely crazy, which I don’t intend to do, the rest of my days should be comfortable.
“As for the future, I may survive the next decade but I’ve no lust to be 90. I don’t know what I’d do, beyond what I’m doing nowadays, which is getting up in the morning, reading the Telegraph and the Mail and having all my prejudices reconfirmed, brewing up a cup of char and then going down the pub for lunch.”
Lee Child, a fellow thriller writer, previously described The Day of the Jackal as “the book that broke the mould”.
Forsyth was long known – alongside his books – for his outspokenness on political matters as a Conservative, a supporter of Brexit and a defender of traditional values.
He disliked the “woke” agenda and cancel culture, saying in 2023 that he would be “horrified” if they tried to make the TV adaptation of The Day of the Jackal “woke”.
“Touch wood, no one has yet called me out, saying my books are un-woke,” he told the Telegraph two years ago, adding: “Woke is stupid rather than sinful, but plain stupid.”
He also expressed disdain that JK Rowling was being attacked for her gender-critical views by the three former Harry Potter child stars that she was once close to.
He said he felt “particular anger on her behalf at the three young stars of the Harry Potter films – Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson – for disowning Rowling when she was attacked by trans activists”.
“These idiots were brought from nowhere to star in the films of her work and now they are against her. But without her, they’d be nowhere,” he added.
For two decades, until his 85th birthday, Forsyth shared his views through a weekly column in the Daily Express. He retired from writing thrillers in 2018.
His wife of 30 years, Sandy, died last year after a four-year decline in her health. She was his second wife after Carrie, the mother of his two sons, Stuart and Shane, who are both now in their 40s.
In 2023, he said: “Among the sadnesses in my life is that my two sons emigrated. One lives in Sweden with his wife and three children, and the other in Ibiza with his wife and my fourth grandchild.”
Forsyth’s other bestsellers include The Odessa File, The Dogs of War, Icon and The Negotiator.
Bill Scott-Kerr, Forsyth’s publisher, wrote: “Transworld’s long relationship with Frederick Forsyth began in 1972 with the Corgi paperback publication of The Day of the Jackal.
“With its never-before-read ice-cool writing, iconic jacket and a protagonist for the ages, The Day of the Jackal was an instant bestseller across the world and immediately propelled Freddie into a globally successful career which would span the next fifty years across books, films and most recently television.”
Scott-Kerr continued: “Having long held The Day of the Jackal as the blueprint of the modern thriller, I was honoured to become his editor for Avenger in 2002 and have remained so ever since.
“Working with Freddie has been one of the great pleasures of my professional life, perhaps never more so when he pulled back the curtain on his eventful life in his autobiography, The Outsider, one of the most entertaining and fascinating non-fiction books you could hope to read.”
He added that Forsyth’s journalistic background “brought a rigour and a metronomic efficiency to his working practice and his nose for and understanding of a great story kept his novels both thrillingly contemporary and fresh”.
“It was a joy and an education to watch him at work,” he continued. “Still read by millions across the world, Freddie’s thrillers define the genre and are still the benchmark to which contemporary writers aspire.
“He leaves behind a peerless legacy which will continue to excite and entertain for years to come.”