People in the Isle of Man will have a chance to hear first hand from one of the UK’s most renowned contemporary authors and political figures this Spring. Jeffrey Archer will be the guest speaker at a black-tie dinner to be held on Thursday 26th April, entitled “Up close and personal with Jeffrey Archer: a private encounter with the man, his books and his life”, organised by the IoM Sporting and Dining Club and sponsored by HSBC. Jeffrey Archer has sold over 270 million copies of his books in 97 countries and is the only author ever to have been a number one bestseller in fiction, short stories and non-fiction. His next novel, ‘The Sins of the Father’, is volume two of a five book saga called ‘The Clifton Chronicles’ and is due to be published in March this year. Having gained a Blue in Athletics at Oxford, Jeffrey served five years in the House of Commons and nineteen in the House of Lords. He acted as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party from September 1985 until November 1986 and was made a Life Peer in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 1992. In 1999, he was charged with perjury and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, being released in July 2003, having served two years. An avid art collector and amateur auctioneer, Jeffrey has been married for 46 years to Dr Mary Archer, who is chairman of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. A charity raffle will yet again be held during the dinner, with all funds raised being donated to a local charity selected by HSBC. At the last dinner of 2011, at which the guest speaker was Michelle Mone, ?920 was raised for the Friends of Chernobyl’s Children (IOM). The event will take place at the Mount Murray Hotel & Country Club in Santon, with dinner tickets costing ?65 for members and ?75 for non-members, available by contacting the Club on 07624 495749 or email john@sportinganddiningclub.com. Kevin Cartledge, Senior Manager at HSBC in the Isle of Man, said: “The calibre of speakers at the Sporting and Dining Club’s dinners continues to get stronger and stronger and I am sure that many people will be keen to come and hear from Jeffrey Archer, one of the most recognisable political characters and prolific story tellers of our day. Having recently announced that over ?30,000 has been raised for local charities through these dinners since they began in 2006, I'm looking forward to seeing that total increase significantly this year.” John Wannenburgh of the Sporting and Dining Club added: “There’s no doubt that Jeffrey Archer will attract huge interest from islanders and that this will prove to be a popular event, so I would encourage people to book their seats early. Jeffrey can draw on an extraordinarily broad range of experiences, achievements and interests for what promises to be a fascinating, enlightening and highly entertaining dinner.” Entrepreneur and ‘dragon’ Hilary Devey will be the guest speaker at the IoM Sporting and Dining Club’s first event of 2012 on Thursday 26th January at the Mount Murray Hotel and Country Club. Ends