Paul Theroux facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paul Theroux
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Theroux in September 2008
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| Born | Paul Edward Theroux April 10, 1941 Medford, Massachusetts, U.S. |
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| Education | University of Maine University of Massachusetts, Amherst (BA) |
| Period | 1967–present |
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Paul Edward Theroux (born April 10, 1941) is an American writer. He is famous for his many books, especially his travel stories. One of his most well-known travel books is The Great Railway Bazaar from 1975.
Some of his fictional stories have even been made into movies. He won an award in 1981 for his novel The Mosquito Coast. This book was later turned into a movie in 1986 and a TV show in 2021.
Paul Theroux is part of a creative family. He is the father of writers and filmmakers Marcel and Louis Theroux. His brothers, Alexander Theroux and Peter Theroux, are also authors. And his nephew, Justin Theroux, is a well-known actor and screenwriter.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Paul Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1941. He was the third of seven children in his family. His mother, Anne, was Italian American and used to be a teacher and painter. His father, Albert, sold leather for shoes.
As a young boy, Paul was a Boy Scout. He worked hard and achieved the highest rank, becoming an Eagle Scout. He has several brothers and sisters.
Paul went to Medford High School. After that, he studied at the University of Maine and then the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He earned a degree in English in 1963.
Paul Theroux's Career Journey
Starting with the Peace Corps
After college, Paul Theroux joined the Peace Corps in 1963. He went to Malawi in Africa to work as a teacher. He later said he was a "young man" who wanted to leave Massachusetts.
The Peace Corps was quite new at the time. While in Malawi, Theroux helped a political opponent of the Prime Minister, Hastings Banda, escape. Because of this, he was asked to leave Malawi and the Peace Corps in 1965. His novel Jungle Lovers, which was set in Malawi, was banned there for many years.
Moving to Uganda and Singapore
In 1965, Theroux moved to Uganda. He taught English at Makerere University and wrote for a magazine called Transition. There, he became friends with the magazine's founder, Rajat Neogy, and the famous writer V.S. Naipaul.
While in Uganda, a scary event happened. An angry crowd threatened the car his pregnant wife was in. This made Theroux decide to leave Africa for a safer place.
In 1968, Paul and his wife moved to Singapore with their first son, Marcel. Their second son, Louis, was born there. After teaching at the National University of Singapore for two years, the family moved to England in 1971. They lived in Dorset and then in London.
Writing and Relationships
Paul Theroux's marriage ended in 1990, and he moved back to the United States. He wrote a book called Sir Vidia's Shadow (1998). In this book, he described his long friendship with Nobel Laureate V. S. Naipaul. This book showed a different side of their friendship compared to an earlier book he wrote about Naipaul. They later tried to become friends again in 2011 and remained close until Naipaul passed away in 2018.
His novel Saint Jack (1973) was banned in Singapore for 30 years. This was because the government felt it showed the country in a bad way. All of Theroux's books were also banned in South Africa during the time of apartheid. However, after South Africa became a democracy in 1995, his book The Mosquito Coast became required reading for high school students.
Returning to Africa and New Perspectives
In 2001, before his 60th birthday, Theroux went back to Africa. He wanted to see how the continent had changed. Even though he faced challenges during his trip, he came away with a positive view of Africa and its people. He wrote about this journey in his book Dark Star Safari.
He has also shared his thoughts on famous people who try to help Africa. He believes that the idea that Africa can only be saved by outside help or celebrities is not true. In a 2009 interview, he said he has become more positive. He feels that being happy helps him write well.
In 2016, Theroux wrote an article for The New York Times. He compared his own experience in the Peace Corps, where he was unknowingly involved in a political plot, to the case of John Walker Lindh.
Paul Theroux's Literary Works
Early Novels and Travel Writing Success
Paul Theroux published his first novel, Waldo, in 1967 while he was in Uganda. It was quite successful. He wrote several more novels, including Fong and the Indians, Jungle Lovers, and The Mosquito Coast. When he returned to Malawi years later, he found that Jungle Lovers was still banned there. He wrote about this in his book Dark Star Safari (2002).
After moving to London in 1972, Theroux took an amazing train journey. He traveled from Great Britain all the way to Japan and back. He wrote about this adventure in The Great Railway Bazaar. This book became a huge success and is now considered a classic travel book. It even helped start a boom in travel writing.
Exploring the World Through Books
Since then, he has written many more travel books. These include:
- The Old Patagonian Express: About traveling by train from Boston to Argentina.
- The Kingdom by the Sea: About walking around the United Kingdom.
- The Happy Isles of Oceania: About kayaking in the South Pacific.
- Riding the Iron Rooster: About visiting China.
- Dark Star Safari: About traveling across Africa from Cairo to Cape Town.
In 2015, he published Deep South, which describes four road trips through the southern states of the United States. In 2019, he released On the Plain of Snakes, about his travels by car throughout Mexico. Theroux is known for his detailed descriptions of people and places. His writing often includes a sense of humor or a bit of sarcasm.
He has also written non-fiction, like Sir Vidia's Shadow. This book tells the story of his friendship with Nobel Prize winner V. S. Naipaul.
Working with Photographers and Film Adaptations
Paul Theroux has worked a lot with the famous photographer Steve McCurry. Their book The Imperial Way came out in 1987. McCurry's photos are also in Theroux's books Deep South and On the Plain of Snakes. They have even worked together on assignments for magazines like Smithsonian and The National Geographic.
Many of Theroux's books have been made into movies or TV shows:
- His 1972 novel Saint Jack was filmed in 1979.
- His short novel Doctor Slaughter became the movie Half Moon Street in 1986.
- The film The Mosquito Coast (1986) starred Harrison Ford. This book also became a 10-part TV series in 2021.
- His collection of short stories The London Embassy was a six-part TV series in 1987.
- Christmas Snow, a 1986 TV movie, was based on his novel London Snow.
- Theroux also wrote the story for the Hong Kong film Chinese Box (1997).
Paul Theroux's Personal Life
In his 2017 novel Mother Land, Paul Theroux mentions an older son born in Puerto Rico in 1961. This son was given up for adoption but later came back into his life.
While in Uganda, Theroux met Anne Castle. She was an English student teaching in Kenya. They got married in 1967. They later moved to South London in 1971. They have two sons, Marcel and Louis, who are both writers and documentary makers. Paul and Anne divorced in 1993.
Paul Theroux married his second wife, Sheila Donnelly, on November 18, 1995. Sheila runs a company that works with luxury travel and hotels. They live in Hawaii and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Paul also has a stepson named Brendan Donnelly.
Awards and Honors
Paul Theroux has received many awards and honors for his writing:
- He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Geographical Society in the UK.
- He has received honorary doctorates in literature from Trinity College and Tufts University.
- In 2015, he received the Patron's Medal from the Royal Geographical Society.
- He won the Maria Thomas Fiction Award for lifetime achievement in 1990.
- His book The Mosquito Coast was nominated for the American Book Award in 1983 and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1981.
- The Old Patagonian Express was nominated for the American Book Award in 1981.
- He won the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award in 1989 for Riding the Iron Rooster.
- His novel Picture Palace won the Whitbread Prize for Best Novel in 1978.
- He received an award for literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1977.
- He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1984.
Book and Film Adaptations
Many of Paul Theroux's stories have been adapted into movies and TV shows:
- Saint Jack was made into a film by director Peter Bogdanovich in 1979.
- Doctor Slaughter was adapted as the film Half Moon Street in 1986.
- The Mosquito Coast became a film of the same name in 1986 and a TV series in 2021.
- The film Chinese Box (1997) was based on themes Theroux explored in his 1997 novel Kowloon Tong. This film is about the British handing over Hong Kong to China.
- A Christmas Card was a radio play for BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
- The Stranger at the Palazzo D'Oro was also a radio play for BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
See also
In Spanish: Paul Theroux para niños
