Frederick Forsyth, author of bestselling novel The Day of the Jackal, dies aged 86
9 June 2025, 17:55 | Updated: 9 June 2025, 19:46
Frederick Forsyth, author of the bestselling thriller Day of the Jackal, has died aged 86.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The author and former MI6 agent died at home on Monday morning after a brief illness, his agent has said.
The writer is known for his bestselling thrillers, which he based on his own experiences as a journalist and MI6 agent.
His works include The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File and The Dogs of War, widely credited with changing the face of the thriller genre.
"We mourn the passing of one of the world's greatest thriller writers," agent Jonathan Lloyd said in a statement.
He added: "After serving as one of the youngest ever RAF pilots, he turned to journalism, using his gift for languages in German, French and Russian to become a foreign correspondent in Biafra.
"Appalled at what he saw and using his experience during a stint as a secret service agent, he wrote his first and perhaps most famous novel, The Day of the Jackal (1972), and instantly became a global bestselling author."
In 2016, Mr Forsyth told LBC he was 'lucky' that the Day of the Jackal was as successful as it was.
"I did the stupidest, craziest thing you can do," he told LBC, adding: "I said, I'll solve my financial problems by doing a novel."
He added: "Of course, I was told 'don't be stupid. Nobody ever, ever solves their financial problems by writing a novel. First of all, it won't get published, and secondly, even if it does, it'll sell about 10 copies'.
"Being young and naive, I said 'OK, well, I think I can do it anyway'. And so I wrote down and dashed off The Day of the Jackal. It was luck. I mean, let's face it, there are superb writers whose first four or five novels were rejected. I was lucky."
Day of the Jackal had a massive impact on the political thriller genre. It follows a professional assassin contracted to kill the president of France at the time, Charles de Gaulle.
Mr Forsyth told LBC how he got the book published in 1971, after a chance encounter with the late book publisher Harold Harris.
He said: "I ran into Mr Harold Harris at Hutchinsons. He was then editorial director of Hutchinsons. And he, amazingly, actually read it and summoned me back to his office and said, 'it's weird'.
"He said, 'I've never, never read a novel where the hero isn't even named. Right to the last page, you bury him anonymous!' And he said 'I've never seen that before. We don't even find out who he was! I've never seen that before!
"And you're also putting in real people, real politicians in fictional conversations with fictional characters. Have you got their permission?' I said 'no! So long as I'm not libelling them, what can they do?' And no-one's ever complained!"
Forsyth was a prolific writer, and published more than 25 books. He sold over 75 million books around the world, his agent said.
"He will be greatly missed by his family, his friends, all of us at Curtis Brown and of course his millions of fans around the world - though his books will of course live on forever," Lloyd added.
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."
