Paul Edward Theroux (born April 10, 1941) is an American travel writer and novelist. He was born in Medford, Massachusetts.

After he finished his university education, Theroux joined the Peace Corps and taught in Malawi. After he helped a political opponent of Hastings Banda escape to Uganda, he was expelled from Malawi and thrown out of the Peace Corps, and he moved to Uganda to teach at Makerere University there. When Uganda under Idi Amin became an unpleasant place to live, he moved again to Singapore.

His first novel, Waldo, was published during his time in Uganda, and was moderately successful. He published several more novels over the next few years, including Fong and the Indians and Jungle Lovers.

He moved to London in 1972, and the following year set off on an epic journey by train from Great Britain to Japan. His account of this journey was published as The Great Railway Bazaar , which revolutionised travel writing and became perhaps his best known work. He has since undertaken several more intrepid journeys, including from Boston to Argentina by train (The Old Patagonian Express), around China (Riding the Iron Rooster), and from Cairo to Cape Town (Dark Star Safari). All these writings were highly critically acclaimed.

As a traveller he is noted for his highly perceptive descriptions of people and places, laced with a heavy streak of misanthropy. For example, when a fellow train traveller tries to engage him in conversation on a train leaving Boston on a winter's evening by saying it's like the Trans-Siberian Railway, Theroux simply replies, 'No it's not'.

His novel Doctor Slaughter was made into a film, Half Moon Street (1986), starring Michael Caine and Sigourney Weaver, which received bad reviews from film critics. The Mosquito Coast was also made into a film of the same name (1986), directed by Peter Weir, and starring Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, and River Phoenix. It received a more positive reception.

Theroux has two sons by his first wife. They are the writer and television presenter Marcel Theroux , and the television presenter Louis Theroux. Theroux currently lives in Hawaii.

List of novels

Waldo Fong And The Indians Murder In Mount Holly Girls At Play Jungle Lovers Sinning With Annie Saint Jack The Black House The Family Arsenal The Consul's File Picture Palace A Christmas Card London Snow World's End

The Mosquito Coast The London Embassy Half Moon Street O-zone The White Mans Burden My Secret History Chicago Loop Millroy The Magician My Other Life Kowloon Tong The Collected Short Novels Hotel Honolulu Nurse Wolf And Dr. Sacks Stranger At The Palazzo D'Oro

List of non-fiction books

• The Great Railway Bazaar
• The Old Patagonian Express
• The Kingdom By The Sea
• Sailing Through China
• Sunrise With Seamonsters
• The Imperial Way
• Riding The Iron Rooster
• To The Ends Of The Earth
• The Happy Isles Of Oceania
• The Pillars Of Hercules
• Sir Vidia's Shadow
• Fresh Air Fiend
• Best American Travel Writing
• Dark Star Safari

External link

• Paul Theroux.com http://www.geocities.com/paultherouxonline/ - claims to be "the web's first and only fan site dedicated to Paul Theroux"
• Peace Corps biography of Paul Theroux http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467/2021015.html