Frederick Forsyth, the author of ‘The Day of the Jackal’, passed away on Monday at the age of 86.
His agency, Curtis Brown, stated that Forsyth died after a brief illness, surrounded by his family.
Forsyth began his career as a pilot in the British Royal Air Force and became an investigative journalist. He later authored several works including ‘The Fox’, ‘The Kill List’, and his renowned ‘The Day of the Jackal’, published in 1971.
The novel emerged following his work as a journalist and covering various stories, notably one of the assassination attempts on Charles de Gaulle, with the 1962 attempt serving as inspiration for the book.
Through his works, Forsyth became well-known and in 2015, he revealed in ‘The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue’ that he had extensive work with MI6.
“We mourn the passing of one of the world’s greatest thriller writers. Only a few weeks ago, I sat with him as we watched a new and moving documentary about his life – ‘In My Own Words’, set to be released later this year on BBC1 – and was reminded of his extraordinary life, well-lived,” expressed his agent, Jonathan Lloyd, as quoted by Sky News.
“Shocked by what he saw and using his experience as a secret service agent, he wrote his first and perhaps most famous novel, ‘The Day of the Jackal’, instantly becoming a worldwide bestselling author,” he continued, noting that many of his more than 25 books were adapted into films.
“His family, his friends, all of us at Curtis Brown, and, of course, his millions of fans around the globe will miss him deeply, although his books will live on forever,” he concluded.
