Paul Theroux
Paul Edward Theroux (/θəˈruː/;[2] born April 10, 1941) is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue The Great Railway Bazaar (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films. He was awarded the 1981 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel The Mosquito Coast, which was adapted for the 1986 movie of the same name and the 2021 television series of the same name.
Paul Theroux
Paul Edward Theroux
April 10, 1941
Medford, Massachusetts, U.S.
- Novelist
- travel writer
- short story writer
- literary critic
1967–present
-
Anne Castle(m. 1967; div. 1993)
-
Sheila Donnelly(m. 1995)
- Alexander Theroux (brother)
- Peter Theroux (brother)
- Justin Theroux (nephew)
He is the father of English-American authors and documentary filmmakers Marcel and Louis Theroux, the brother of authors Alexander Theroux and Peter Theroux, and uncle of the American actor and screenwriter Justin Theroux.
Early life[edit]
Paul Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts, the third of seven children,[3] and son of Catholic parents; his mother, Anne (née Dittami), was Italian American, and his father, Albert Eugene Theroux, was of French-Canadian descent.[4][5] His mother was a former grammar school teacher and painter,[6] and his father was a shoe factory leather salesman for the American Leather Oak company.[6][7] Theroux was a Boy Scout and ultimately achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.
His brothers are Eugene, Alexander, Joseph and Peter. His sisters are Ann Marie and Mary.[6]
Theroux was educated at Medford High School, followed by the University of Maine, in Orono (1959–60), and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he obtained a B.A. in English in 1963.
According to his older brother Alexander, Paul affects a "fake British accent" despite growing up in a working-class Boston suburb.[8]
Personal life[edit]
His 2017 semi-autobiographical novel Mother Land (and earlier related short story in The New Yorker magazine, set in Puerto Rico) refer to an older son born in Puerto Rico in 1961 whither his college girlfriend and he had travelled for the birth, giving the baby up for adoption; later, Theroux's son returned into his life.[40]
When Theroux was in Uganda, his friends found him a teaching position at Makerere University in Kampala. There he met Anne Castle, an English graduate student teaching at an upcountry girls' secondary school in Kenya, via Voluntary Service Overseas.[41][42][3] They married in 1967. After leaving Asia and Dorset, they moved to South London in 1971, because it was cheaper than the United States.[3] They had two sons: Marcel and Louis,[43] both of whom are writers and documentarians. Theroux and Castle divorced in 1993.
Theroux married a second time to Sheila Donnelly, on November 18, 1995. His wife runs a luxury travel/hotel PR agency.[44] They reside in Hawaii and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.[45][46]
Theroux has received numerous awards and honors.[49]