A prolific writer, Jeffrey Archer’s latest novel A Prisoner of Birth, published by Pan Macmillan Asia, is his 13th. His larger-than-life biography covers a period as a sportsman, Conservative MP, bankrupt, peer, playwright and prisoner. Kenny Coyle spoke to him in his suite at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel during his promotional visit to Hongkong enroute to Australia.
DO YOU USE YOUR TRAVELS TO RESEARCH FOR YOUR NOVELS?
I think you do subconsciously and if it was a subject I knew was going to make it into my next novel, I’d be taking notes as I go.
You never know when you have to put a person on a plane or get them from one country to another, so I think most writers have a tendency to remember all sorts of experiences that you can draw on later.
WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF HONGKONG?
This is my first visit in 10 years, so for me it’s seeing the new roads and the new bridges. It’s being reminded of high-rise buildings that stretch up into the clouds, with flats of maybe two or three rooms which seem so crowded.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE PLACES IN ASIA?
I have a passion for Japan, it’s a fascinating place, and I’m going to India soon for my first book tour. One of my great loves is cricket and the Indian cricket team gave me some great publicity when the media found out they all read my books in their dressing rooms.
Let’s face it, Asia is the new world. I can’t make up my mind whether it will be India or China that will dominate the world.
I still haven’t been to mainland China. I’ve been to six Olympic Games, but I won’t be going to the Olympics in Beijing as I’m worried about the smog and the heat. A friend who was there recently said the air quality was unbearable. I’ve no idea how that’s going to affect the athletes. Can you imagine running the marathon in those conditions? My own experiences of previous Olympics is that if you don't have a good hotel and a good driver, you're in No Man's Land.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE DESTINATIONS?
My wife Mary and I love Italy. So this summer we’re going to Venice and afterward we’re taking a boat round Sicily. We spent last year in Tuscany. We did 11 cities in 14 days. We had a great guide, a friend who knows Italy. So when we went to a gallery, we would only look at the four or five great paintings or sculptures and then he would talk about them. That would take an hour and then we’d go. Half the time when visiting museums and so on, you spend hours wandering through the galleries and you pass by the great works of art when you’re worn out.
ARE THERE OTHER MUST-SEES?
Don’t miss St Petersburg and don’t miss Madrid. If you get to your deathbed without seeing those cities, you will have missed a hell of a lot. I’m an art nut. The Hermitage is the greatest museum on earth and the Prado is pretty damn good as well.
YOU SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN HOTELS, WHAT ARE YOUR BUGBEARS?
I hate it when you can’t find the right switch to reset the air-conditioner or where you need a physics degree to turn the light on and another to turn off the internal music. I hate internal music. There aren’t many functional hotel rooms left and my biggest gripe is not being able to read in bed because the lights are at the wrong angle. It’s farcical. They don’t seem to think these things through.
WHAT DOES JEFFREY ARCHER READ WHEN HE'S TRAVELLING?
I love art books but the big hardback versions aren’t practical for travelling, of course. I’m currently reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It was recommended to me by a friend when I was in Toronto. I’m 100 pages into it. The book’s very well written. Especially when you’re travelling down to Hongkong and then on to Perth and across Australia, you want a pretty meaty book to get you through the trip.
