The bestselling trilogy of books is to become a long-running television series.

News has broken that Eleven (Sex Education) and Sony Television International are adapting the Kane and Abel novels.

Jeffery Archer’s bestselling trilogy was first published between 1977 and 1982. It’s comprised of Kane and Abel, The Prodigal Daughter and Shall We Tell The President?

Here’s the premise:

Kane and Abel tells the story of two men, one Polish, an illegitimate son of a Baron, the other rich and privileged from a wealthy Boston banking family. Born on the same day on opposite sides of the world, their paths cross only once in their ruthless pursuit to build a fortune, but what follows is an epic story of revenge that spans sixty years.

Linked by an all-consuming hatred after one catastrophic incident, these two patriarchs blindly commit their lives to destroying one another’s empires. It’s only when Abel’s strong-willed daughter, Florentyna, meets Kane’s son Richard, that these two enemies start to understand that their feud is going to come at great personal cost.

The adapter of the books is Sarah Quintrell (His Dark Materials) who says:

“It’s exciting to be adapting Jeffrey’s epic and extraordinary Kane and Abel Trilogy. The big themes of power, privilege, pride, love and loss – exploring what man does to man and the ramifications of our behaviour across generations – feel incredibly timely. The bold storytelling and wonderful twists and hooks meant I couldn’t put the novels down. It’s a writer’s dream to adapt such a rollercoaster ride especially alongside Joel, Sophie [Williams] and the brilliant team at Eleven.”

Producer Joel Wilson adds:

“Sarah is the most wonderful writer. The combination of Sarah and Jeffrey’s incredibly compelling trilogy is a deeply fascinating one and I can’t wait to find a broadcaster who shares our vision for the long-running series we have in mind.”

Kane and Abel is executive produced by Joel Wilson and Jamie Cambell for Eleven. James Baker and James Archer also executive produce for The Jeffery Archer Company.

Jeffery Archer

The former Conservative politician and life peer, who also served a prison sentence for perjury and perverting the course of justice in relation to a libel trial, is a prolific author. His books have sold over 275 million copies worldwide.

This won’t be the first television adaptation of Kane and Abel. The story previously became a 1985 CBS mini-series starring Sam Neil and Peter Strauss.