Theroux, << thuh ROO >> Paul (1941-…), an American author, became known for his novels and travel books. Much of his writing, both fiction and nonfiction, explores Third World settings, such as Africa and Central America. His books often examine the impact of Third World societies on American or English characters living in such countries as Singapore, Malawi, Uganda, and Honduras.
Paul Edward Theroux was born on April 10, 1941, in Medford, Massachusetts. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1963 and served in the Peace Corps from 1963 to 1965. He was sent to Malawi to teach English. He then taught in Uganda from 1965 to 1968. Three of his early novels were set in Africa: Fong and the Indians (1968), Girls at Play (1969), and Jungle Lovers (1971). His novel Saint Jack (1973) is about an American living in Singapore, where Theroux taught from 1968 to 1971. His other novels include The Family Arsenal (1976), Picture Palace (1978), The Mosquito Coast (1982), Half Moon Street (1984), O-Zone (1986), My Secret History (1989), Chicago Loop (1990), My Other Life (1996), Kowloon Tong (1997), Hotel Honolulu (2001), The Lower River (2012), Mother Land (2017), Under the Wave at Waimea (2021), and The Bad Angel Brothers (2022).
Theroux’s first travel book, The Great Railway Bazaar (1975), was a best seller. The book describes a four-month railway journey the author took through Asia. Several of his other travel books also describe trips by railway—The Old Patagonian Express (through North and South America, 1979), The Kingdom by the Sea (through the United Kingdom, 1983), and Riding the Iron Rooster (through China, 1988). Theroux’s travel books Dark Star Safari (2003) and The Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safari (2013) describe trips through Africa by railway and other forms of transportation. The Tao of Travel: Enlightenment from Lives on the Road (2011) is Theroux’s personal survey of travel writing through the years. On the Plain of Snakes (2019) explores life in Mexico along the border with the United States and beyond.
Theroux has written a critical study, V. S. Naipaul: An Introduction to His Work (1972), about the modern West Indian writer. Collections of Theroux’s essays have been published as Sunrise with Seamonsters: Travels and Discoveries, 1964-1984 (1985); Fresh Air Fiend: Travel Writings, 1985-2000 (2000); and Figures in a Landscape: People and Places (2018). He wrote an autobiography, My Secret History (1989). Theroux’s short stories have been collected in Sinning with Annie (1972), The Consul’s File (1977), World’s End (1980), The London Embassy (1982), The Collected Stories (1997), and The Stranger at the Palazzo d’Oro (2004). Three short novels about Americans traveling in India were collected in The Elephanta Suite (2007).
