British Author Of ‘The Biafran Story’, Frederick Forsyth Dies At 86
86-year-old British author Frederick Forsyth, best known for his global bestseller “The Day Of The Jackal”, has died.
His agent, Jonathan Lloyd, confirmed that he passed away on Monday after a brief illness.
“We mourn the passing of one of the world’s greatest thriller writers,” Lloyd said in a statement.
Forsyth, who became a household name through his gripping political thrillers, was also known for his deep passion for the Biafran struggle.
As a young foreign correspondent, he came to Nigeria during the civil war and reported from the frontlines.
His experience and sympathy for the Biafran cause led him to write The Biafra Story, one of the earliest detailed accounts of the conflict, and later Emeka, a biography of Biafran leader Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
Born in Kent in 1938, Forsyth joined the Royal Air Force at 18, becoming one of its youngest ever pilots.
He later worked as a journalist for Reuters and the BBC. In 2015, he revealed that he had also secretly served for more than two decades with the British intelligence agency MI6.
His debut novel, The Day Of The Jackal, was published in 1971 while he was out of work. “[I was] skint, in debt, no flat, no car, no nothing and I just thought, ‘How do I get myself out of this hole?’ And I came up with probably the zaniest solution – write a novel,” he recalled.
The book, a suspenseful tale of an English assassin hired to kill French President Charles de Gaulle, became a massive success. It was adapted into a 1973 film starring Edward Fox, and a television remake starring Eddie Redmayne was released in 2024.
Forsyth went on to write more than 25 books, including The Odessa File, The Dogs of War, and The Fourth Protocol. His books sold over 75 million copies globally, making him one of the most successful thriller writers of his generation.
His publisher, Bill Scott-Kerr, said: “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.”
Scott-Kerr described working with Forsyth as “one of the great pleasures of my professional life.” He added: “The flow of brilliant plots and ideas aside, he was the most professional writer an editor could hope for.
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.”
The Odessa File, released in 1972, was adapted into a film starring Jon Voight. Forsyth also completed a sequel, Revenge of Odessa, co-written with Tony Kent, which is scheduled for publication this August.
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1997 for services to literature.
He is survived by two sons from his first marriage to Carole Cunningham. His second wife, Sandy Molloy, died in October 2023.
