‘The Day of the Jackal’ author Frederick Forsyth has died at 86 after a brief illness.
Family surrounded the British political thriller novelist at the time of his death, his literary agents confirmed.
Before his venture into novel writing that spanned over five decades, Frederick, an only child born in Kent, England, would lose himself in stories. At the age of 17, he became the youngest pilot officer for the Royal Air Force before going into journalism a year later.
A war correspondent for the BBC for six months, he covered the Nigerian Civil War between Biafra and Nigeria while working with the BBC as a foreign correspondent, leading to his first published non-fiction book, ‘The Biafra Story,’ in 1969.
He reported on the assassination attempt of French president Charles de Gaulle in 1962, which ‘The Day of the Jackal’ was influenced by.
He had penned 25 spy fiction books about quests in the journalism and British intelligence agency, the MI6 terrain, in bestsellers like ‘The Day of the Jackal,’ ‘The Odessa File,’ ‘The Dogs of War,’ ‘The Fox,’ ‘The Afghan,’ and ‘The Devil’s Alternative,’ selling more than 70 million books written in over 30 languages.
‘The Jackal,’ ‘The Day of the Jackal,’ and ‘Avenger’ are some of his novels that were adapted into films.
His agent, Johnathan Lloyd, eulogised him as one of the greatest thriller writers.
“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,” he said.
He went on, “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 on BBC1, and was reminded of an extraordinary life, well lived.”
His publisher, Bill Scott-Kerr, said that a sequel to ‘The Odessa File’ titled ‘Revenge of Odessa,’ which he co-wrote with thriller writer Tony Kent, is set to be published in August.
“His 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,” Bill said.