Francine Pascal Explained
Francine Paula Pascal (née Rubin, May 13, 1932 – July 28, 2024) was an American author best known for her Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. Sweet Valley High, the backbone of the collection, was made into a television series,[2] [3] which led to several spin-offs, including The Unicorn Club and Sweet Valley University. Although most of these books were published in the 1980s and 1990s, they remained so popular that several titles were re-released decades later.[4]
Early life and education
Francine Paula Rubin was born on May 13, 1932, in Manhattan, New York, and raised in Jamaica, Queens, New York.[5] She was the daughter of Kate (Dunitz) and William Rubin, an auctioneer.[6] Her family was Jewish.[7] She studied journalism at New York University and began her career writing for magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Ladies' Home Journal, Modern Screen, and True Confessions.[5]
In 1958, she married Jerome Offenberg until divorcing in 1963.[5] In 1964, she married John Pascal until his death in 1981.[5]
Writing career
Francine and John Pascal were hired as writers for the soap opera The Young Marrieds.[5] They left the show after being asked to leave New York for Los Angeles to continue working.[5] The couple later wrote a Broadway musical, George M!, with her brother Michael Stewart.[5]
Pascal's first novel, Hangin' Out With Cici (1977),[5] was later turned into an ABC Afterschool Special, My Mother Was Never a Kid. Around this time, she aspired to create a soap opera, but struggled to come up with an idea.[5] One day, a friend who worked in publishing gave her the idea for a series aimed at teenagers, which Pascal immediately responded to and developed as a book.[5] This became the successful Sweet Valley High series, set in the fictitious Southern California town of Sweet Valley.[5] After writing the first seven books herself, she oversaw a team of ghostwriters to expand the series.[5] Sweet Valley High continued in numerous iterations until 2003, and was briefly revived with the novel Sweet Valley Confidential in 2011.[5]
Pascal later developed other work, including the Fearless series, Save Johanna! (1981) and The Ruling Class.[5]
Personal life
Pascal had three children from her marriage to Offenberg.[5] Her daughter, Jamie Stewart Carmen, was an NBC producer who died in 2008.[5]
John Pascal died of lung cancer in 1981. Francine Pascal later wrote the novel If Wishes Were Horses (1994), a work of autofiction about her marriage and widowhood, in which the protagonist moves to France following the death of her husband.[5] [8]
Pascal died of lymphoma at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital on July 28, 2024, at the age of 92.[5] [9]
See also
Sources
- The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005)
- The 100 Most Popular Young Adult Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies (Bernard A. Drew: Libraries Unlimited, 1997)
- The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway (William Goldman: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1969)
- George M! (Book by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine Pascal: Tams-Witmark, 1968; National Broadcasting Co., 1970)
- Hello, Dolly! (Book by Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman: Signet Books, 1964)
- Bye Bye Birdie (Book by Michael Stewart: DBS Publications, Inc., 1962)
- Carnival! (Book by Michael Stewart: DBS Publications, Inc., 1968)
- Mack & Mabel: A Musical Love Story (Book by Michael Stewart, Samuel French, Inc., 1976)
- The Strange Case of Patty Hearst (John Pascal and Francine Pascal: Signet Books, 1974)
- The Young Marrieds (John Pascal and Francine Pascal: American Broadcasting Co., 1964–1966)
- Hangin' Out with Cici (Francine Pascal: Pocket Books, 1977)
- My Mother Was Never a Kid Afterschool Special (Original Title: Hangin' Out with Cici – Book by Francine Pascal, Screenplay by Jeffrey Kindley: American Broadcasting Co., 1981)
- My First Love and Other Disasters (Francine Pascal: Dell, 1980)
- Love and Betrayal & Hold the Mayo (Francine Pascal: Viking Press, 1985)
- The Hand-Me-Down Kid (Francine Pascal: Viking Press, 1980)
- The Hand-Me-Down Kid Afterschool Special (Book by Francine Pascal, Screenplay by Judy Engles: American Broadcasting Co., 1983)
- Book: Pascal . Francine . 0 . Save Johanna! . 1982 . Penguin Group . 978-0-425-05300-3 . 4255900M . en.
- If Wishes Were Horses (Francine Pascal: Crown, 1994)
- La Villa (Re-release of If Wishes Were Horses – Francine Pascal: Pocket Star, 2004)
- The Ruling Class (Francine Pascal: Simon & Schuster, 2004)
- Caitlin Trilogy Book Series (Created by Francine Pascal: Bantam Starfire, 1985–1988)
- Sweet Valley Book Series (Created by Francine Pascal: Random House, 1983–2009)
- Sweet Valley Television Series (Created by Francine Pascal: Saban Entertainment, 1994–1997)
- Fearless Book Series (Created by Francine Pascal: Simon & Schuster, 2000–2003)
- Fearless: FBI Book Series (Created by Francine Pascal: Simon & Schuster, 2005–2006)
- Fearless Television Series (Never Released – Created by Francine Pascal: Warner Bros. Television and Jerry Bruckheimer Television, 2004)
- Amazon Books (Amazon Services, LLC, 2009)
- Fantastic Fiction Limited, Lancashire, UK
- Book: Pascal . Francine . 0 . Little Crew of Butchers . 2017 . CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform . 978-1-5482-1317-6 . 44281796M . en.
External links
Notes and References
- News: Queen of the Teen Romance. Chicago Tribune. March 1, 1987. 2010-10-17. Bymary. Elson.
- News: 2 Good 2 Be True. Chicago Tribune. September 6, 1994. 2010-10-17.
- News: Bubblegum Tv. Newsweek. 2010-10-17.
- News: Publishing's Queen of the Teen Romance Finds Success With a Formula. The Los Angeles Times. April 20, 1986. 2010-10-17. Elizabeth. Mehren.
- News: Risen . Clay . Francine Pascal, Creator of 'Sweet Valley High' Book Series, Dies at 92 . The New York Times . July 29, 2024 . July 29, 2024. limited.
- News: Dougherty . Steve . July 11, 1988 . Heroines of 40 Million Books, Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley Twins Are Perfection in Duplicate . https://web.archive.org/web/20110110142155/https://people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20099411,00.html . 2011-01-10 . 7 April 2016 . People . 30 . 2.
- Web site: Wait, the Author of "Sweet Valley High" Was Jewish? .
- August 16, 2019 . Kristen . Baldwin . 'Sweet Valley High' creator Francine Pascal looks back on her remarkable career . 2022-09-02 . Entertainment Weekly . en.
- Web site: Flam . Charna . Francine Pascal, 'Sweet Valley High' Book Creator, Dies at 92 . . 3 August 2024 . en . 30 July 2024.