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{{short description|American author (born 1938)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{more footnotes|date=March 2010}}

{{Infobox writer
{{Infobox writer
| name = Francine Pascal
| name = Francine Pascal
| image =
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| caption =
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| pseudonym =
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| birth_name = Francine Rubin
| birth_name = Francine Rubin
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1938|05|13}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1938|05|13}}
| birth_place =
| birth_place = New York City, US
| death_date =
| death_date =
| death_place =
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| occupation = Writer
| occupation = Writer
| nationality = American
| education =
⚫
| alma_mater = [[New York University]]
| ethnicity =
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| period =
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| genre = Teen and young-adult fiction, oriented mainly to female readers
| education =
⚫
| subject =
⚫
| alma_mater = [[New York University]]
| period =
| movement =
⚫
| notableworks = ''[[Sweet Valley High]]''<ref>{{cite news|title= Queen of the Teen Romance|work= Chicago Tribune|date=March 1, 1987|url= http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-03-01/features/8701170195_1_jessica-wakefield-sweet-valley-high-teen-romance|access-date=2010-10-17|first=Bymary|last=Elson}}</ref>
⚫
| genre = Teen and young-adult fiction, oriented mainly to female readers
| spouse = {{marriage|[[John Pascal]]|1965|1981|reason=died}}
⚫
| subject =
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| children = Jamie Stewart Carmen
⚫
| notableworks = ''[[Sweet Valley High]]''<ref>{{cite news|title= Queen of the Teen Romance|work= Chicago Tribune|date=March 1, 1987|url= http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-03-01/features/8701170195_1_jessica-wakefield-sweet-valley-high-teen-romance|accessdate=2010-10-17|first=Bymary|last=Elson}}</ref>
| spouse = [[John Pascal]]<br>(1965-1981)
| relatives = [[Michael Stewart (playwright)|Michael Stewart]] (brother)
| partner =
| influences =
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| influenced =
⚫
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| relatives = [[Michael Stewart (playwright)|Michael Stewart]]
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'''Francine Pascal''' (''[[née]]'' '''Rubin,''' born May 13, 1938) is an American author best known for creating the Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. ''[[Sweet Valley High]]'' was the backbone of the collection, and was made into a popular [[Sweet Valley High (TV Series)|television series]].<ref>{{cite news|title= 2 Good 2 Be True|work= Chicago Tribune|date=September 6, 1994|url= http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-09-06/features/9409060076_1_sweet-valley-high-doublemint-twins-valley-girls|accessdate=2010-10-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title= Bubblegum Tv|work= Newsweek|date=|url= http://www.newsweek.com/1996/06/23/bubblegum-tv.html|accessdate=2010-10-17}}</ref> There were also several spin-offs, including ''[[Sweet Valley High#The Unicorn Club|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 have been re-released in recent years.<ref>{{cite news|title= Publishing's Queen of the Teen Romance Finds Success With a Formula|work= The Los Angeles Times|date=April 20, 1986|url= http://articles.latimes.com/1986-04-20/news/vw-836_1_teen-romance|accessdate=2010-10-17|first=Elizabeth|last=Mehren}}</ref>
'''Francine Pascal''' (''[[née]]'' '''Rubin,''' born May 13, 1938) is an American author best known for creating the Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. ''[[Sweet Valley High]]'' was the backbone of the collection, and was made into a popular [[Sweet Valley High (TV series)|television series]].<ref>{{cite news|title= 2 Good 2 Be True|work= Chicago Tribune|date=September 6, 1994|url= http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-09-06/features/9409060076_1_sweet-valley-high-doublemint-twins-valley-girls|access-date=2010-10-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title= Bubblegum Tv|work= Newsweek|url= http://www.newsweek.com/1996/06/23/bubblegum-tv.html|access-date=2010-10-17}}</ref> There were also several spin-offs, including ''[[Sweet Valley High#The Unicorn Club|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 have been re-released in recent years.<ref>{{cite news|title= Publishing's Queen of the Teen Romance Finds Success With a Formula|work= The Los Angeles Times|date=April 20, 1986|url= http://articles.latimes.com/1986-04-20/news/vw-836_1_teen-romance|access-date=2010-10-17|first=Elizabeth|last=Mehren}}</ref>


==Biography==
==Biography==
{{expandsect|date=June 2022}}
'''Francine Rubin''' was born in [[Manhattan]], [[New York (state)|New York]] and raised in [[Queens, New York]], [[United States]]. Her father was an auctioneer.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dougherty|first1=Steve|title=Heroines of 40 Million Books, Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley Twins Are Perfection in Duplicate|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20099411,00.html|accessdate=7 April 2016|work=People|issue=Vol. 30, No. 2|date=July 11, 1988}}</ref> In 1958, she graduated from [[New York University]]. It was there that she first met author and journalist [[John Pascal]] and, in 1965, they were married. Francine often credited John as her writing mentor, and they collaborated on several projects, including writing scripts for the [[ABC (USA)|ABC]] soap opera ''[[The Young Marrieds]],'' which aired from 1964 to 1966 as part of the [[ABC Daytime]] block. John died of lung cancer in 1981, at 49 years of age.
'''Francine Rubin''' was born on May 13, 1938 in [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]], and raised in [[Queens]], New York City. Her father was an [[auctioneer]].<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last1=Dougherty |first1=Steve |date=July 11, 1988 |title=Heroines of 40 Million Books, Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley Twins Are Perfection in Duplicate |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20099411,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110142155/https://people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20099411,00.html |archive-date=2011-01-10 |access-date=7 April 2016 |work=People |volume=30 |issue=2}}</ref> She began her writing career writing scripts for the [[soap opera]] ''[[The Young Marrieds]]'' alongside her husband, [[John Pascal]]. The couple also wrote a Broadway musical, ''[[George M!]]'', with her brother [[Michael Stewart (playwright)|Michael Stewart]]. Her first novel, ''Hangin' Out With Cici'', was later turned into an [[ABC Afterschool Special]], ''[[My Mother Was Never a Kid]]''. A friend then convinced her to turn her idea of a soap opera aimed at teenagers into a book series, which became the successful ''[[Sweet Valley High]]'' series, which she oversaw a team of [[Ghostwriter|ghostwriters]] to deliver. She later developed other work, including the ''[[Fearless (novel series)|Fearless]]'' series, ''Save Johanna!'' and ''[[The Ruling Class (novel)|The Ruling Class]]''. Her husband died from [[lung cancer]] in 1981, which inspired her novel ''If Wishes Were Horses'', where the protagonist moves to France following the death of her husband.<ref>{{Cite web |last=August 16 |first=Kristen Baldwin |last2=EDT |first2=2019 at 01:28 PM |title='Sweet Valley High' creator Francine Pascal looks back on her remarkable career |url=https://ew.com/author-interviews/2019/08/16/sweet-valley-high-creator-francine-pascal-interview/ |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=EW.com |language=en}}</ref> Her daughter, Jamie Stewart Carmen, was an [[NBC]] [[Television producer|producer]].<ref name=":0" />

Francine's brother was the prolific [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] playwright and librettist [[Michael Stewart (playwright)|Michael Stewart]], who wrote the books to such musical hits as ''[[Bye Bye Birdie (musical)|Bye Bye Birdie]]'' and ''[[Hello, Dolly! (musical)|Hello, Dolly!]]'' Francine, her husband John, and her brother Michael worked together writing the book to the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] [[musical theater|musical]] ''[[George M!]]'', which ran at the [[Palace Theatre (New York City)|Palace Theatre]] from 1968 to 1970. A television version of ''[[George M!]]'' was aired on [[NBC]] in 1970. Following her brother's death in 1987, Ms. Pascal revised his musical ''[[Mack & Mabel]].'' She also worked on the revision of another of his musicals, ''[[Carnival!]]'', for the [[Kennedy Center]] in Washington.

Pascal's first young adult novel, published in 1977, was called ''Hangin' Out with Cici,'' in which her heroine, [[Victoria Martin]], went back in time and met her mother as a teenager. It was televised as an [[ABC Afterschool Special]], ''[[My Mother Was Never a Kid]].'' She has written two other books about Victoria Martin; these were ''My First Love and Other Disasters'' and ''Love and Betrayal & Hold the Mayo.'' Another of her early novels, ''The Hand-Me-Down Kid,'' was also made into an ABC Afterschool Special.

More recent works include the Caitlin series, a set of three trilogies which follows a teenage girl into adulthood, as well as a second mass-market project, the young adult fantasy spy series ''[[Fearless (book series)|Fearless]]'' and its spin-off ''Fearless: FBI.'' A [[Fearless (TV series)|TV series]] was also planned for ''Fearless,'' but for several reasons{{Which|date=June 2015}} it never aired.

Another of Pascal's novels, ''[[The Ruling Class (novel)|The Ruling Class]],'' a teen novel about a clique of spectacularly cruel girls who essentially run a high school in a wealthy Dallas suburb, has been described as "a magnetic ''tour de force'' created by a master storyteller at the top of her form." In 1994, her Sweet Valley High book series was adapted for television with her brought aboard as "executive producer" and "creative consultant". None of her suggestions were really accepted and she has since disowned the show.

In addition to her work for mostly female teens, Ms. Pascal has written some adult fiction books, including ''La Villa'' (originally published as ''If Wishes Were Horses'') and ''Save Johanna!'', as well as a non-fiction book, ''The Strange Case of Patty Hearst,'' on which she collaborated with her husband John. ''Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later'' revisited the ''[[Sweet Valley High]]'' characters ten years later, by which time they had become adults. The adult story continues with ''The Sweet Life,'' a series of e-books taking place three years after ''Sweet Valley Confidential.''

On February 22, 2008, Pascal's oldest daughter Jamie died after a two-year battle with liver disease.

As of the last days of June 2015, Pascal was dividing her time between homes in New York and the south of France. She maintains a rigorous professional schedule, but spends as much time as she can with her children and grandchildren. Since John died, she has never remarried. Her daughter Susan now lives in Shanghai, with her daughter Nicole.

== Awards ==
Ms. Pascal received The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, The Milner Award, The Bernard Versele Award, Brussels, and Publishers Weekly Literary Prize.{{Citation needed|date=June 2015}}


==See also==
==See also==
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091123222538/http://www.tamswitmark.com/index.html Tams-Witmark Music Library]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091123222538/http://www.tamswitmark.com/index.html Tams-Witmark Music Library]
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202179/episodes Internet Movie Database: ABC Afterschool Specials]
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202179/episodes Internet Movie Database: ABC Afterschool Specials]
* [http://www.jamiestewart.com Jamie Stewart's Memorial Website]
* [http://www.jamiestewart.com Jamie Stewart's Memorial Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110116052819/http://jamiestewart.com/ |date=January 16, 2011 }}
{{Sweet Valley High}}
{{Sweet Valley High}}


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[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Women soap opera writers]]
[[Category:American women soap opera writers]]
[[Category:Women writers of young adult literature]]
[[Category:American women writers of young adult literature]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American people of Jewish descent]]

Latest revision as of 14:40, 28 April 2024

Francine Pascal
BornFrancine Rubin
(1938-05-13) May 13, 1938 (age 86)
New York City, US
OccupationWriter
Alma materNew York University
GenreTeen and young-adult fiction, oriented mainly to female readers
Notable worksSweet Valley High[1]
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1965; died 1981)​
ChildrenJamie Stewart Carmen
RelativesMichael Stewart (brother)

Francine Pascal (née Rubin, born May 13, 1938) is an American author best known for creating the Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. Sweet Valley High was the backbone of the collection, and was made into a popular television series.[2][3] There were also 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 have been re-released in recent years.[4]

Biography[edit]

Francine Rubin was born on May 13, 1938 in Manhattan, New York City, and raised in Queens, New York City. Her father was an auctioneer.[5] She began her writing career writing scripts for the soap opera The Young Marrieds alongside her husband, John Pascal. The couple also wrote a Broadway musical, George M!, with her brother Michael Stewart. Her first novel, Hangin' Out With Cici, was later turned into an ABC Afterschool Special, My Mother Was Never a Kid. A friend then convinced her to turn her idea of a soap opera aimed at teenagers into a book series, which became the successful Sweet Valley High series, which she oversaw a team of ghostwriters to deliver. She later developed other work, including the Fearless series, Save Johanna! and The Ruling Class. Her husband died from lung cancer in 1981, which inspired her novel If Wishes Were Horses, where the protagonist moves to France following the death of her husband.[6] Her daughter, Jamie Stewart Carmen, was an NBC producer.[5]

See also[edit]

Sources[edit]

  • 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)
  • Save Johanna! (Francine Pascal: Morrow, 1981)
  • 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

References[edit]

  1. ^ Elson, Bymary (March 1, 1987). "Queen of the Teen Romance". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  2. ^ "2 Good 2 Be True". Chicago Tribune. September 6, 1994. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  3. ^ "Bubblegum Tv". Newsweek. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  4. ^ Mehren, Elizabeth (April 20, 1986). "Publishing's Queen of the Teen Romance Finds Success With a Formula". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Dougherty, Steve (July 11, 1988). "Heroines of 40 Million Books, Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley Twins Are Perfection in Duplicate". People. Vol. 30, no. 2. Archived from the original on January 10, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  6. ^ August 16, Kristen Baldwin; EDT, 2019 at 01:28 PM. "'Sweet Valley High' creator Francine Pascal looks back on her remarkable career". EW.com. Retrieved September 2, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Francine_Pascal&oldid=1221208381"