20 Facts About Paul Theroux

Paul Edward Theroux is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue The Great Railway Bazaar.

Paul Theroux 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 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.

Paul Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts, the third of seven children, and son of Catholic parents; his mother, Anne, was Italian American, and his father, Albert Eugene Theroux, was of French-Canadian descent.

Paul Theroux helped a political opponent of Prime Minister Hastings Banda escape to Uganda.

Paul Theroux was declared persona non grata by Banda in Malawi for sympathizing with Yatuta Chisiza.

Paul Theroux moved to Uganda in 1965 to teach English at Makerere University, where he wrote for the magazine Transition.

When his marriage ended, early in 1990, Paul Theroux returned to the United States, where he has since settled.

Paul Theroux wrote about this journey in the book Dark Star Safari.

Paul Theroux published his first novel, Waldo, during his time in Uganda; it was moderately successful.

Paul Theroux published several more novels over the next few years, including Fong and the Indians, Jungle Lovers, and The Mosquito Coast.

Paul Theroux recounted that in his book Dark Star Safari.

Paul Theroux is noted for his rich descriptions of people and places, laced with a heavy streak of irony, or even misanthropy.

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.

Paul Theroux has worked extensively with the celebrated photographer Steve McCurry.

Paul Theroux's set of short stories The London Embassy became a six-part TV series on British television in 1987.

Paul Theroux wrote the Hong Kong story on which the Wayne Wang film Chinese Box was based.

Paul Theroux's 2017 semi-autobiographical novel Mother Land 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.

When Paul Theroux was in Uganda, his friends found him a teaching position at Makerere University in Kampala.

Paul Theroux married a second time to Sheila Donnelly, on November 18,1995.