Nisha JamVwal Remembers Friend Jeffrey Archer: ‘Next to Impossible to Imagine World Without Him’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Jeffrey Archer passed away on October 5 at his home, just a day before his final novel, “Adam and Eve,” was to be published. In a lengthy tribute by his publisher, HarperCollins, they shared that the popular novelist died “suddenly and peacefully at his home between writing sessions” on Monday. 

Archer was a dear friend to Nisha JamVwal and her husband, Kanwar Rameshwar Singh Jamwal, aka Jammie. He penned a short story called "Caste-Off" which became a part of his 2010 release “And Thereby Hangs a Tale,” inspired by her and her spouse’s romance.

An emotional JamVwal talks to Variety India following his demise, “It's painful and it's very, very sad. I just can't tell you how miserable I am. He was more than a friend. He was a mentor. He was a fun, eternal person. It's next to impossible for me to imagine England without him, the world without him.” 

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She shares details from their last meeting in England for Archer and his wife Mary’s diamond wedding anniversary. “He was in perfect health, but I kept having a premonition. He didn’t let us go and we stayed back chatting with him. I don't know why I was feeling pain rather than feeling happy.” She adds how the meal involved a lot of his friends, including Ian Botham, John Major and Kemi Badenoch. 

Going into their discussions about his writing, she remembers their chat about his many pieces of work. “He said he can never write a greater book than this,” she says, talking about “Adam and Eve” being his last book.

Recalling their first-ever meeting, she shares, “It was instant chemistry. He really adored me when he met me. And he just couldn't get over me.” She calls their relationship “something” beyond friendship. Having begun reading Archer’s work back when she was just 13, her admiration began with “Kane and Abel” and continued with its follow-up “The Prodigal Daughter,” which she calls “a very empowering book”.

She describes their relationship with fondness and how it was different than his author self, “When I met Jeffrey, he's way more than even his books. He's the opposite. He enhances every memory of the book.”

Reminiscing about her fondest memory of him, she speaks about a tender reading of “Caste-Off” at Souk which left her in tears. “He loved the Taj (The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai) and he loved going there with us. Once, he gifted me the limited edition hardbound one of ‘And Thereby Hangs a Tale’ which he read to me. It was very beautiful.” 

“I went shopping once and he bought two cufflinks with King George on them, made out of historic Indian coins,” she adds, talking about their tradition of exchanging gifts. 

For her parting words, JamVwal details her thoughts on her friend, “He was greater, wittier, brighter, drier, more interesting, British, funny, intelligent and sparkling than one could imagine.”