Paula Fox Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Picture Books

Publication Order of Chapter Books

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Paula Fox was an award-winning popular author from America, who liked to write adult and children’s books as well as memoirs. She had made excellent contributions to the children’s book genre, for which she was awarded with the biennial Hans Christian Award in the year 1978. This is the highest international award given to a children’s books creator. Author Fox had also won several other prestigious awards in her career, particularly for her children’s books, including the Newbery Medal, the National Book Award, and the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis. In 2011, author Fox was inducted into the Writers Hall of Fame of the New York State. The adult novels written by Fox did not get printed beyond 1992 as they failed to gather any audience. Another reason was the increasing popularity of the children’s books written by her. At the time of the mid 90s, Fox saw a revival of her adult books as they were championed by several aspiring American writers. Author Fox was born on April 22, 1923, in New York City, New York, United States. Her death occurred on March 01, 2017, in Brooklyn, New York, at the age of 93. Fox’s mother named Elsie De Sola was a screenwriter from Cuba, while her father named Paul Hervey Fox used to teach English and write screenplays. After divorcing her mother, Fox’s father had married another woman named Mary, with whom he had a daughter and 3 sons. This way, author Fox had 4 step-siblings. Author Fox was rejected by her mother at the time of her birth and was left at a foundling home. She was eventually rescued by her maternal grandmother named Candelaria De Sola. Later, Fox lived with her grandmother while moving around Cuba, Florida, and the United States. As Candelaria was not able to provide a home to Fox, she gave her away to Reverand Corning in Balmville, New York. It was Reverand Corning who taught author Fox important lessons about life and also treated her with love and affection. When Fox was 5 years old, she went to meet with her parents, but was not treated well. She was seen as a prisoner of war by her mother. Later, Fox described this incident in one of her memoirs as a pretty traumatic experience.

During the year 1944, author Fox lived in the house of a popular acting coach named Stella Adler. She had grown close to another student of Adler, who used to live along with her in the same house. Eventually, Fox became pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl. The child was given up for adoption. The girl, Linda Carroll, grew up to become a famous psychotherapist and author. A famous musician named Courtney Love is Linda’s daughter and granddaughter of author Fox. Also, the popular visual artist Frances Bean Cobain is her great-granddaughter. Author Fox completed her graduation from the Columbia University. Later, she married a man named Richard Sigerson and had a couple of sons with him. Some time later, Fox got married for the second time to a translator and literary critic named Martin Greenberg. For many years, author Fox worked as a tutor and teacher of troubled children. It was only when she reached her 40s that she decided to try her hand at writing novels. Her first book, Poor George, published in 1967, describes the story of a cynical teacher, who finds purpose while mentoring a vagrant student. This novel was very well received by the critics and was regarded as the best novel to have been published in a long time. In spite of the rave reviews and praises, Fox was not able to sell many copies. The same pattern was later followed by all other adult novels that she wrote. Over the course of the next few years, author Fox came up with many bestselling books. Her popularity as an author kept on rising and by the start of the 21st century, she had successfully established herself as a prominent author. Jonathan Franzen championed author Fox, who made sure that a few of her novels were re-issued.

An initial book written by Paula Fox is entitled ‘The Slave Dancer’. It was released by the Dell Publishing in the year 1975. Author Fox has described the chief character in this book as Jessie Bollier. At the start of the book’s story, it is shown that Jessie Bollier used to play his life for earning a few pennies at the docks in New Orleans. On one occasion, a sailor asks him to pipe a tune. On the same evening, Jessie Bollier gets kidnapped and thrown aboard a slave ship named The Moonlight. On board the ship, he is asked to carry out a hateful duty. Jessie is made to play music that the slaves on the ship could ‘dance’ and keep strong muscles. This way, their slavers could make more profit out of their strength. After some time, Jessie becomes sick of taking part in the tobacco and rum trading business for the blacks. With the passage of each day, the horrors of the slave trade grew more inescapable and more vivid to Jessie Bollier. But, it did not affect the traders as they only worried about their profit. And so, they kept on making Jessie work forcefully. In the end, Jessie was about to experience the final horror after living through 4 months of calculated torture, hazardous sailing, and fear. This horror seemed to live with Jessie for the remaining days of his life.

Another exciting book written by author Fox is called ‘The Widow’s Children’. It was published by the W.W. Norton publishing in the year 1999, after its initial release in 1976. The primary characters of this novel as depicted by author Fox include Laura Maldonada Clapper, Desmond Clapper, Clara Hansen, Carlos, and Peter Rice. At the beginning of the story of the book, it is depicted that Laura Maldonada and her husband, Desmond Clapper, are about to go to African trip. They wait for the arrival of their friends, Carlos, Peter Rice, and Clara Hansen, in a hotel room in New York City. Clara is Laura’s daughter from her first marriage, while Carlos is her charming and flamboyant brother. Peter Rice is an editor whom Laura has not seen for more than a year. As the trip begins, the happy situation turns into a claustrophobic family resentment clash. And the clash continues from the hotel room up to the restaurant that all the 5 visit. Finally, Laura Maldonada decides to inform all of them that the family’s matriarch and her mother has died the due to a heart attack in the morning. Overall, the book is filled with an intense storyline and interesting characters.