Paul Theroux is one of the famous Novelist, who was born on the memorable day of April 10 in the year 1941. Hailing from the vibrant city of Massachusetts, Paul Theroux is a proud citizen of United States.
A popular fiction author and travel writer, he is best known for his 1975 work, The Great Railway Bazaar, which details his four-month train trip across Asia. For his 1981 novel, The Mosquito Coast, he received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
Over the years, not only have skills been honed, but a significant impact has also been made in the professional field. Whether it's through work, public appearances, or contributions to the community, Paul Theroux continues to be an inspiration for many.
Personal Information
Details about Paul Theroux
Popular As:
Paul Theroux
First Name:
Paul
Last Name:
Theroux
Gender:
Male
Birthday:
April 10
Birth Year:
1941
Age:
82-years
Father:
Albert Eugene Theroux
Mother:
Anne Dittami
Education:
University of Massachusetts Amherst; Medford High School
Career
He graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a degree in English. In 1963, he joined the Peace Corps and worked as a teacher in Malawi.
He published his debut novel, Waldo, while he was living in Uganda.
Family
He was born in Massachusetts to a French-Canadian father and an Italian-American mother. In 1967, he married Anne Castle. The couple’s two sons, Louis and Marcel Theroux, grew up to be authors and documentary filmmakers. He criticized actor Brad Pitt‘s charitable efforts for being driven by self-interest.
Paul Theroux Timeline
1959
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.
1961
At the time, the Peace Corps was relatively new, having sent its first volunteers overseas in 1961.
1963
After he finished his university education, Theroux joined the Peace Corps in 1963 as a teacher in Malawi.
1965
For this, Theroux was expelled from Malawi and thrown out of the Peace Corps in 1965.
1967
Theroux published his first novel, Waldo (1967), during his time in Uganda; it was moderately successful.
1968
In November 1968, the couple moved with their son Marcel to Singapore, where a second son, Louis, was born.
1971
After two years of teaching at the National University of Singapore, Theroux and his family settled in England in November 1971.
1972
Naipaul: An Introduction to his Work (1972).
1973
His novel Saint Jack (1973) was banned by the government of Singapore for 30 years.
1975
The Nigerian reviewer Noo Saro-Wiwa writes” “Theroux’s book The Great Railway Bazaar (1975) sold 1.5 million copies and is often credited with launching the travel-writing boom of the late twentieth century." He has since written a number of travel books, including 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).
1981
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.
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1986
His novella Doctor Slaughter was filmed as “Half Moon Street,” in 1986, with Michael Caine and Sigourney Weaver.
1987
Their book The Imperial Way appeared in 1987, and McCurry's photographs are included in Theroux's Deep South and On the Plain of Snakes.
1990
When his marriage ended, early in 1990, Theroux returned to the United States, where he has since settled.
1993
Theroux and Castle divorced in 1993.
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1995
All 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 as a set book for 12th grade students sitting their final (“Matric”) exam.
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1997
Theroux wrote the Hong Kong story on which the Wayne Wang film Chinese Box (1997) was based.
1998
Naipaul in his memoir Sir Vidia's Shadow (1998) contrasts sharply with his earlier, admiring portrait of the same author in V.
2001
In 2001, prior to his 60th birthday, Theroux returned to Africa to retrace his footsteps and "[take] the pulse of the continent." 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.
2002
He recounted that in his book Dark Star Safari (2002).
2009
In a 2009 interview, he stated that he now has "the disposition of a hobbit," and had become more optimistic than in his youth.
2011
The two authors attempted a reconciliation in 2011 after a chance meeting at the Hay Literary Festival, 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.
2015
In 2015, he published "Deep South" detailing four road trips through the southern states of the United States.
2016
In an op-ed in The New York Times on October 22, 2016, Theroux recommended that President Obama pardon John Walker Lindh.
2017
His 2017 semi-autobiographical novel Mother Land (and an earlier related short story published in The New Yorker magazine and set in Puerto Rico) refer to an older son born from a college relationship; he and his unmarried partner are said to have given the boy up for adoption, though this individual apparently came back into his life at some point.
2019
In 2019 he published On the Plain of Snakes, his account of his extensive travels in his own car throughout Mexico.
