LONDON (AP) 鈥� Frederick Forsyth, the British author of 鈥淭he 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.
鈥淲e mourn the passing of one of the world鈥檚 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 鈥淭he Day of the Jackal,鈥� 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 television series starring and Lashana Lynch.
In 2015, Forsyth told the BBC that he had also worked for the for many years, starting from when he covered a civil war in Nigeria in the 1960s.
Although Forsyth said he did other jobs for the agency, he said he was not paid for his services and 鈥渋t was hard to say no鈥� to officials seeking information.
鈥淭he zeitgeist was different,鈥� he told the BBC. 鈥淭he Cold War was very much on.鈥�
He wrote more than 25 books including 鈥淭he Afghan,鈥� 鈥淭he Kill List,鈥� 鈥淭he Dogs of War" and 鈥淭he Fist of God" that have sold over 75 million copies, Lloyd said.
His publisher, Bill Scott-Kerr, said that 鈥淩evenge of Odessa,鈥� a sequel to the 1974 book 鈥淭he Odessa File" that Forsyth worked on with fellow thriller author Tony Kent, will be published in August.
鈥淪till read by millions across the world, Freddie鈥檚 thrillers define the genre and are still the benchmark to which contemporary writers aspire,鈥� Scott-Kerr said.
The Associated Press
