World-renowned writer Frederick Forsythe, known for his thrillers including “The Day of the Jackal“, has died at the age of 86, his agent announced, quoted by the BBC, quoted by vesti.bg.
"We mourn the death of one of the world's greatest thriller writers," said Jonathan Lloyd.
Forsythe died on Monday after a short illness.
The writer published more than 25 books, including "The Odessa File" and "The Dogs of War", and has sold 75 million books worldwide.
His publisher Bill Scott-Kerr commented: "Still read by millions around the world, Freddie's thrillers defined the genre and are still the benchmark to which modern writers aspire. He leaves behind an unparalleled legacy that will continue to excite and entertain for years to come."
Born in Kent in 1938, Forsyth joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 18 before becoming a war correspondent for the BBC and "Reuters".
The writer revealed in 2015 that he had also worked for the British intelligence agency MI6 for more than 20 years.
Many of his fictional plots are based on his real-life experiences around the world.
He rose to fame with his first novel "The Day of the Jackal" in 1971, which he wrote when he was unemployed.
"I was hungry, in debt, homeless, carless, nothing, and I just thought, "How do I get out of this hole?" And I came up with perhaps the most absurd solution - write a novel," says Forsyth.
This is a fascinating story set in 1963, about an Englishman hired to assassinate the French president at the time, Charles de Gaulle.
"The Day of the Jackal" was made into a film in 1973 starring Edward Fox as the Jackal, and then the story was turned into a television drama starring Eddie Redmayne.
After "The Day of the Jackal" came "The Odessa File" in 1972, which was adapted for the big screen as a film starring Jon Voight two years later.
Forsythe wrote a sequel, "Revenge of Odessa", with his colleague Tony Kent, and the novel will be published this August.
His other bestsellers include "The Fourth Protocol" in 1984, which was made into a film starring Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan.
In 1997, Forsythe received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature.
He has two sons with his first wife, Carol Cunningham. His second wife, Sandy Molloy, died last October.