Paul Theroux papers, 1939-2016

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Summary

Creators:
Theroux, Paul
Abstract:
The professional and personal papers of American author Paul Theroux; the collection includes novels, travel books, notebooks, diaries, correspondence, photographs, and ephemera.
Extent:
62.13 Linear Feet (149 boxes)
Language:
Material in collection is in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Paul Theroux papers. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection is comprised primarily of the manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and ephemera of Paul Theroux. His works are often semi-autobiographical and are based on his experiences living and traveling around the world. He is noted for his rich, sometimes ironic, description of people and places. The material comprises almost his entire career as a writer and includes multiple drafts of various works from working notebooks to printed galleys.

The collection includes novels (1967-2016), short story collections (1972-2014), non-fiction and travel books (1972-2016), and shorter works including reviews, articles, short stories, plays, and lectures (1960-2015); the collection also includes Theroux's working and travel notebooks (1968-2014).

The collection also contains professional papers and business correspondence (1963-2015), with publishers, agents, other authors and reader's letters; included in this material are letters from, among others, Eve Auchincloss, Peter De Vries, Margaret Drabble, Nadine Gordimer, Graham Greene, Blanche C. Gregory, Hamish Hamilton Ltd., Houghton Mifflin Company, V.S. Naipaul, Jonathan Raban, Oliver Sacks, Muriel Spark, Stephen Spender, William Styron, and Auberon Waugh.

There is also a smaller amount of family material and personal correspondence (1939-2015), with family and friends; this correspondence includes Eugene Theroux, Alexander Theroux, Peter Theroux, Marcel Theroux, Louis Theroux, Anne Theroux, and various other family members. The ephemera consists of photographs, printed material and magazines (1941-1915).

Biographical / historical:

Paul Theroux (1941-), American writer of novels, travel books, non-fiction works, articles, and short stories. His works are often semi-autobiographical and based on his own travels throughout world. Theroux was born in Medford, Massachusetts, the third of seven children; his three brothers are the writers Eugene Theroux, Alexander Theroux, and Peter Theroux. He attended the University of Maine (Orono), and in 1963, graduated with a B.A. in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

In 1963, Theroux joined the Peace Corps to teach in Malawi, Africa, and in 1965, moved to Uganda to teach English followed by two years teaching at the National University of Singapore. He married Anne Castle in 1967 and they moved to live in London, England (1971), with their two sons Marcel and Louis; both of whom later became writers and documentary filmmakers. After his divorce in 1993, Theroux married Shelia Donnelly in 1995; they currently reside in Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Maine.

Theroux published his first novel "Waldo" in 1967 and his early novels are based on his experiences living in Malawi, Uganda, and Singapore. His first major success as a travel writer was "The Great Railway Bazaar" (1972), based on a 1972 train journey from Great Britain to Japan and back. Since that time he has published works in multiple genres including, among other titles, "The Mosquito Coast" (1981), "The Kingdom by the Sea" (1983), "Sir Vidia's Shadow" (1998), "Dark Star Safari" (2003), "Mr. Bones" (2014), and "Mother Land" (2017).

Theroux is the winner of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters award for literature (1977), the James Tait Black Memorial Prize (1981), the Patron's Medal from the Royal Geographic Society (2015), and honorary doctorates in literature from Tufts University and Trinity College (Washington, D.C.), among other awards.

Acquisition information:
Joint purchase and gift from Paul Theroux, 2016. Purchased in part by the Library Collector's Council from Paul Theroux, January 16, 2016.
Appraisal information:

During processing in 2019, out of scope material, which included financial and citizenship material (0.42 linear feet), was returned to the donor.

Processing information:

The collection was processed by Gayle Richardson in 2019.

Some of Theroux's writing projects were written over many years and multiple formats; it will be necessary to do a search by title to locate all the material for a particular project in multiple boxes. All works listed in the finding aid are by Paul Theroux unless otherwise noted in the container list.

Arrangement:

Organized in the following series:

  • Novels, 1967-2016 (boxes 1-46)
  • Short story collections, 1972-2014 (boxes 47-57)
  • Non-fiction, 1972-2016 (boxes 58-92)
  • Articles, essays, and reviews, 1965-2015 (boxes 93-102)
  • Short stories, 1967-2015 (boxes 103-104)
  • Plays, scripts, film treatments, and screenplays, 1963-2011 (boxes 105-108)
  • Poems, 1960-2014 (box 109)
  • Lectures, talks, and speeches, 1968-2015 (box 110)
  • Notebooks, 1968-2014 (boxes 111-121)
  • Professional papers, 1963-2015 (boxes 122-129)
  • Family material, ephemera, and photographs, 1939-2015 (boxes 130-141)
  • Sealed material: diaries, notebooks, and appointment books, 1962-2014 (boxes 142-145)
  • Family correspondence and material, 1940-2015 (boxes 146-149)

Physical / technical requirements:

Box 141: Photographic negatives housed in cold storage; extended retrieval and delivery time required.

Born-digital items: 2 CDs in box 38(1); CD in box 99(11); 2 CDs in box 105(9); DVD in box 122(47); CD in box 131(8); 2 CDs in box 139(18). Born-digital materials are not available for paging until reformatted. Please contact Reader Services for more information.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Restrictions apply to:

Box 140a: Black and white photograph of Milton Fuller Roberts Junior High School, Class of 1956. Due to the fragile nature of the photograph, closed to researchers until conservation work completed.

Boxes 142-149: At the donor's request, all personal diaries, notebooks, appointment books, and partial family material and correspondence are sealed until January 1, 2040.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Paul Theroux papers. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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