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Paul Theroux

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Paul Theroux
Theroux in 2008
Theroux in 2008
Born Paul Edward Theroux
April 10, 1941
Medford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education University of Maine
University of Massachusetts, Amherst (BA)
Occupations Novelist
travel writer
short story writer
literary critic
Spouses Anne Castle
(m. 1967; div. 1993)
Sheila Donnelly
(m. 1995)
Children Marcel Theroux
Louis Theroux
Relatives Alexander Theroux (brother)
Peter Theroux (brother)
Justin Theroux (nephew)
Writing career
Period 1967–present

Paul Edward Theroux (/θəˈruː/ thə-ROO;[1][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.

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

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.

Career

After finishing his university education, Theroux joined the Peace Corps in 1963 as a teacher in Malawi.[8] Theroux helped a political opponent of Prime Minister Hastings Banda escape to Uganda. For this, Theroux was expelled from Malawi and thrown out of the Peace Corps in 1965.[9] He was declared persona non grata by Banda in Malawi for sympathizing with Yatuta Chisiza.[10] As a consequence, his later novel Jungle Lovers, which concerns an attempted coup in the country, was banned in Malawi for many years.[11]

He moved to Uganda in 1965 to teach English at Makerere University,[12] where he also wrote for the magazine Transition.[10] While at Makerere, Theroux began his friendship with Rajat Neogy, founder of Transition, and novelist V.S. Naipaul, then a visiting scholar at the university.[13] During his time in Uganda, an angry mob at a demonstration threatened to overturn the car in which his pregnant wife was riding, and Theroux decided to leave Africa.[14][15]

In November 1968, the couple moved with their son Marcel to Singapore, where their second son, Louis, was born.[16] After two years of teaching at the National University of Singapore, Theroux and his family settled in England in November 1971. They lived first in Dorset, and then in south London. After his marriage ended early in 1990, Theroux returned to the United States, where he has since settled.[17]

Theroux's caustic portrait of V. S. Naipaul in his book Sir Vidia's Shadow (1998) contrasts with his earlier, admiring portrait of the same author in V. S. Naipaul: An Introduction to his Work (1972). They had a long friendship, but Theroux said that events during the 26 years between the two books colored his perspective in the later book.[18] The two authors reconciled in 2011 after a chance meeting at the Hay Literary Festival,[19] an episode described in postscript to the subsequent paperback edition of Sir Vidia’s Shadow, and remained close friends until the death of Naipaul in 2018.[20]

His novel Saint Jack (1973) was banned by the government of Singapore for 30 years for casting the country in an unfavorable light.[21][22] All of Theroux's books were banned by the apartheid government in South Africa, but in 1995 after South Africa's transition to democracy under the presidency of Nelson Mandela, the South African Department of Education made Theroux's The Mosquito Coast required reading for 12th-grade students sitting their final ("Matric") exam.

In 2001, prior to his 60th birthday, Theroux returned to Africa. Despite undergoing various hardships during the trip, he came away with a positive impression of Africa and African people and optimistic views of its future.[23] However, his experiences soured his attitudes towards foreign tourists and activists. He wrote about this journey in the book Dark Star Safari.[24]

Theroux has criticized celebrity activists like Bono, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie as "mythomaniacs, people who wish to convince the world of their worth." He has said that "the impression that Africa is fatally troubled and can be saved only by outside help—not to mention celebrities and charity concerts—is a destructive and misleading conceit".[25]

In an op-ed in The New York Times on October 22, 2016, Theroux recommended that President Obama pardon John Walker Lindh. In the article, he compared his association with rebel ministers and own unwitting involvement while a Peace Corps volunteer in a plot to assassinate President Hastings Banda of Malawi to the complexities in the case of Lindh, who fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan.[26]

Literary work

Theroux published his first novel, Waldo (1967), during his time in Uganda; it was moderately successful. He published several more novels over the next few years, including Fong and the Indians, Jungle Lovers, and The Mosquito Coast. On his return to Malawi many years later, he found that Jungle Lovers, which was set in that country, was still banned. He recounted that in his book Dark Star Safari (2002).[27]

After moving to London in 1972, Theroux set off on an epic journey by train from Great Britain to Japan and back. His account of this journey was published as The Great Railway Bazaar, his first major success as a travel writer and now a classic in the genre.[28][29]

He has since written a number of travel books, including about traveling by train from Boston to Argentina (The Old Patagonian Express), walking around the United Kingdom (The Kingdom by the Sea), kayaking in the South Pacific (The Happy Isles of Oceania), visiting China (Riding the Iron Rooster), and traveling from Cairo to Cape Town across Africa (Dark Star Safari). In 2015, he published Deep South detailing four road trips through the southern states of the United States. In 2019, he published On the Plain of Snakes, his account of his extensive travels in his own car throughout Mexico.[30] He is noted for his rich descriptions of people and places, laced with a heavy streak of irony. Nonfiction by Theroux includes Sir Vidia's Shadow, an account of his personal and professional friendship with Nobel laureate V. S. Naipaul, which ended abruptly after 30 years.

Theroux has worked extensively with the celebrated photographer Steve McCurry. Their book The Imperial Way appeared in 1987, and McCurry's photographs are included in Theroux's Deep South[31] and On the Plain of Snakes.[30] Magazines such as Smithsonian and The National Geographic have paired Theroux and McCurry on assignments.[32]

A number of Theroux's books have been made into movies. His novella Doctor Slaughter was filmed as Half Moon Street, in 1986, with Michael Caine and Sigourney Weaver. Peter Weir's film The Mosquito Coast (1986) had Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren and River Phoenix in the cast. Theroux's set of short stories The London Embassy became a six-part TV series on British television in 1987.[33] Christmas Snow, a 1986 TV movie starring Sid Caesar, was adapted from Theroux's novel London Snow.[34] Theroux wrote the Hong Kong story on which the Wayne Wang film Chinese Box (1997) was based. In 2019, Apple Films announced that The Mosquito Coast was in production as a 10-part series that was broadcast in 2021.

Personal life

Theroux's 2017 semi-autobiographical novel Mother Land (and earlier related short story in The New Yorker, set in Puerto Rico) refer to an older son born in Puerto Rico in 1961 where his college girlfriend and he had travelled for the birth, giving the baby up for adoption; later, Theroux's son returned into his life.[35]

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.[36] 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,[37] both of whom are writers and documentarians. Theroux and Castle divorced in 1993.

Theroux then married Sheila Donnelly, on November 18, 1995. Donnelly runs a luxury travel/hotel PR agency.[38] They reside in Hawaii and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.[39][40] Theroux also has a stepson, Brendan Donnelly.

Select awards and honors

Theroux has received numerous awards and honors.[41]

Adaptations

References

  1. Back to citation How to pronounce Paul Theroux (American English/US) - PronounceNames.com, retrieved January 19, 2023
  2. Back to citation "Say How? T". National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. Library of Congress. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  3. Back to citation occurrence 3.0 Back to citation occurrence 3.1 "Paul Theroux". People. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  4. Back to citation The International Who's Who 2004. Routledge. 2003. pp. 1668. ISBN 1-85743-217-7.
  5. Back to citation Cheuse, Alan (June 4, 1989). "A worldly education Paul Theroux imagines a much-traveled writer's active erotic life". Chicago Tribune.
  6. Back to citation occurrence 6.0 Back to citation occurrence 6.1 Back to citation occurrence 6.2 Atlas, James (April 30, 1978). "The Theroux Family Arsenal". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  7. Back to citation Current Biography Yearbook, H. W. Wilson Co., 1979, page 415
  8. Back to citation Coyne, John (October 14, 2015). "More About Paul Theroux (Malawi 1963–65)". Peace Corps Worldwide. Retrieved October 21, 2018; "Paul Theroux: The Malawi I Loved". Departures. September 19, 2013. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018; Theroux, Paul (October 25, 2009). "30th International Festival of Authors, Toronto" (Interview). Interviewed by Eleanor Wachtel.
  9. Back to citation Theroux, Paul (October 5, 2002). "Epiphany under the sun". The Guardian. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  10. Back to citation occurrence 10.0 Back to citation occurrence 10.1 Coyne, John (1995). "Living on the Edge: Paul Theroux (Malawi)". Peace Corps Worldwide. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  11. Back to citation Theroux, Paul (2002). Dark star safari: overland from Cairo to Cape Town. London: Hamish Hamilton. p. 329. ISBN 978-0-241-14048-2.
  12. Back to citation "Paul Theroux on Kenya's Fadhili William". The Wall Street Journal. May 9, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  13. Back to citation French, Patrick (March 23, 2008). "Patrick French's biography of VS Naipaul: Naipaul's friendship with Paul Theroux". The Telegraph; Ngugi, Tee (August 31, 2018). "Tribute to a man of short simple sentences". The East African. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018; Cartwright, Justin (September 3, 2010). "The Masque of Africa". Financial Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  14. Back to citation McKean, Dave; Storey, Barron; Arisman, Marshall; Sienkiewicz, Bill; Theroux, Paul (2003). Edge. New Jersey: Vanguard Productions. p. 60. ISBN 9781887591461.
  15. Back to citation Coyne, John (2003). "Talking with Paul Theroux". Peace Corps Writers. Archived from the original on April 25, 2003.
  16. Back to citation Ting, Lisabel (November 9, 2014). "Paul Theroux's turning point in Singapore". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  17. Back to citation Church, Kate (April 11, 2012). "My London: Paul Theroux". Evening Standard. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  18. Back to citation Tompkins, Jane (September 23, 2018). "V.S. Naipaul, Paul Theroux, and me: What I learned from reading about their tumultuous relationship". salon.com. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  19. Back to citation Nelson, Dean (August 12, 2018). "V.S Naipaul and Paul Theroux in emotional Jaipur Literature Festival reunion". The Telegraph.
  20. Back to citation "V S Naipaul, Paul Theroux end 15-year feud". Deccan Herald. May 30, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  21. Back to citation Theroux, Paul (2008). Ghost train to the Eastern star: on the tracks of the great railway bazaar. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 320. ISBN 978-0-618-41887-9.
  22. Back to citation Yap, Ron (December 3, 2017). "The Counter-Imperialist: Reflections on Bogdanovich's Saint Jack (1979) by a Singaporean". Bright Lights Film Journal. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
  23. Back to citation Stoddart, Veronica Gould (May 23, 2013). "Author Paul Theroux on his final African journey". USA TODAY. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  24. Back to citation Gerhart, Gail M. (January 28, 2009). "Dark Star Safari: Overland From Cairo to Cape Town". Foreign Affairs. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  25. Back to citation Paul Theroux (December 15, 2005). "The Rock Star's Burden". The New York Times. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
  26. Back to citation Theroux, Paul (October 22, 2016). "Opinion | Pardon the American Taliban". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  27. Back to citation Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux, page 329, Penguin edition publ. 2002, ISBN 978-0-14-028111-8
  28. Back to citation "Travelliterature.org". TRAVEL LITERATURE.ORG. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007.
  29. Back to citation "The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia by Paul Theroux". Powell’s Books. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
  30. Back to citation occurrence 30.0 Back to citation occurrence 30.1 González, Rigoberto (October 25, 2019). "Review: What happened when Paul Theroux bought an old Buick and set out across Mexico". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  31. Back to citation Teicher, Jordan G. (November 24, 2015). "What Steve McCurry and Paul Theroux Saw When They Traveled Through the American South". Slate Magazine. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  32. Back to citation Shavin, Naomi. "The Deep South, As Seen Through the Eyes of Renowned Photographer Steve McCurry". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  33. Back to citation "London Embassy". TV Guide. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  34. Back to citation Shepard, Richard F. (December 19, 1986). "TV WEEKEND; NBC's 'Christmas Snow,' Starring Sid Caesar". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  35. Back to citation Seminara, Dave (April 16, 2018). "Why Paul Theroux Loves Cape Cod". The New York Times.
  36. Back to citation Jordan, Justine (September 30, 2017). "Marcel Theroux: 'Keep the life normal, and keep the work weird'". The Guardian. Retrieved October 20, 2018; "Peace Corps Online: 2007.08.15: August 15, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS – Malawi: Writing – Malawi: John Coyne Babbles: Paul Theroux: Peace Corps Writer". peacecorpsonline.org. Retrieved October 20, 2018; "Paul Theroux". People. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  37. Back to citation Sturges, Fiona (July 8, 2021). "The Year of the End by Anne Theroux, shows hell hath no fury like a writer's ex-wife". inews.co.uk.
  38. Back to citation "The Honolulu Advertiser – Island Life". the.honoluluadvertiser.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  39. Back to citation "Famous Author Summers in Sandwich", Cape Cod Today, 3 September 2008
  40. Back to citation Wadler, Joyce (April 10, 2003). "BOLDFACE NAMES". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  41. Back to citation "Book Paul Theroux events, speaking, lectures". Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
  42. Back to citation "Fiction Awards". www.peacecorpswriters.org. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
  43. Back to citation "American Academy of Arts and Letters Members". www.artsandletters.org.
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