Britain Spare Pennies

(2 of 2)

Mrs. Archer broke down on the witness stand defending her husband, while Coghlan dissolved into sobs several times. When Archer's lawyer accused her of concocting the tale in exchange for $10,000 from the News, Coghlan burst out, "You are a liar." At one point, after Coghlan testified that the man she said was Archer had had a pimply back, Mrs. Archer forthrightly declared that her husband possessed "excellent skin." Archer, who did not show his back as evidence, testified that he spent the evening in question dining at a fashionable Mayfair restaurant named Le Caprice. Even the judge seemed sympathetic to the plaintiff, instructing the jurors to think carefully whether Archer was "in need of cold, unloving, rubber-insulated sex in a seedy hotel."

Elected to Parliament as its youngest Member at 29, Archer has had a tumultuous career. He was forced to give up politics and resign from Parliament five years later when bad investments left him near bankruptcy. Those misfortunes became the grist for his first best seller, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less (1975), a title that his lawyer last week jokingly suggested should serve as a guide to the jury in setting damages. Archer's seven books have sold 30 million copies worldwide, making him a multimillionaire and, until last fall, a star on the Tory speaking circuit. Whether he plans to re-enter politics remains uncertain. But many of his fans will surely be disappointed if his next book does not recycle the anguish -- and vindication -- of his most recent adventure.