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06 November 2018

On 29th October, Birkenhead School and Linghams Booksellers in Heswall welcomed novelist and former politician, Lord Jeffrey Archer, to the Wirral to talk about his new book ‘Heads You Win’.

Over his career, Lord Archer has been published in 97 countries and more than 33 languages, with international sales passing 330 million copies.  He is also the only author to have been a number one bestseller in fiction (19 times), short stories (four times) and non-fiction (The Prison Diaries).  During the evening, Lord Archer entertained his thoroughly-engaged audience with examples of stories from his career, including his attempts to break in to the American market, where he finds inspiration for his novels and his literary and political career.  The audience, which included some of Lord Archer’s stalwart fans, had travelled from far and wide to listen to one of the UK’s leading novelists and took the opportunity to pose their questions to the former politician.
 

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During the talk, Lord Archer spoke about how he became one of the youngest Members of Parliament at the age of 29 and how, after a poor investment in a Canadian Company, he was left on the brink of bankruptcy.  This led to the start of his literary career, when determined to pay his creditors in full, he sat down to write his first novel ‘Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less’.  The debut novel sold to 17 countries within a year and was later televised by the BBC.  ‘Kane and Abel’ is one of Jeffrey’s biggest selling novels and became a number one bestseller in hardcover and paperback all over the world, selling a similar number of copies to ‘Kill a Mockingbird’ and ‘Gone with the Wind’. 
 
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The latest novel ‘Heads you Win’ has a final twist that it claims will shock even the most ardent readers and is said to be the author’s most ambitious and creative work since ‘Kane and Abel’.
 
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Jeffrey is the latest in a number of high-profile speakers who have recently visited the School which have included TV presenter and broadcaster, Clare Balding, TV presenter and actor, Sir Tony Robinson, World Snooker Champion, John Parrott and leading illustrator, Chris Riddell.  On Tuesday 20th November, the School is welcoming TV Presenter, Kate Humble, in conjunction with Linghams and tickets are available for this public event through Linghams by calling 0151 342 7290.
 
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For more photos, please visit the Birkenhead School Facebook page.