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 ''Sweet Valley High'' is a series of young adult novels attributed to American author Francine Pascal, who presided over a team of ghostwriters to produce the series. The books chronicle the lives of identical twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefi ...

'' was the backbone of the collection, and was made into a popular

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

. 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.

Biography

Francine Rubin was born in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York, and raised in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Her father was an auctioneer. She began her writing career writing scripts for the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

The Young Marrieds ''The Young Marrieds'' is an American daytime soap opera which aired on ABC from October 5, 1964 to March 25, 1966. The program was created by James Elward and written by Elward with Frances Rickett. Authors John Pascal and Francine Pascal al ...

alongside her husband,

John Pascal John Pascal (July 8, 1932 – January 7, 1981) was an American playwright, screenwriter, author, and journalist. Education John Robert Pascal was born on July 8, 1932 in Brooklyn, New York. He received his journalism degree at New York Unive ...

. The couple also wrote a Broadway musical,

George M! ''George M!'' is a Broadway musical based on the life of George M. Cohan, the biggest Broadway star of his day who was known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." The book for the musical was written by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine ...

, 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

aimed at teenagers into a book series, which became the successful

series, which she oversaw a team of ghost-writers to deliver. She later developed other work, including the Fearless series, Save Johanna! and The Ruling Class. Her husband died from cancer in 1981, which inspired her novel If Wishes Were Horses, where the protagonist moves to France following the death of her husband.

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) * ''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

External links

Random House Sweet Valley Website

Simon & Schuster Fearless Website

Simon & Schuster Fearless: FBI Website

Internet Broadway Database: ''George M!''

Internet Movie Database: ''George M!''

Internet Movie Database: ABC Afterschool Specials

Jamie Stewart's Memorial Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascal, Francine 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American women novelists American writers of young adult literature Living people 1938 births Novelists from New York (state) New York University alumni American soap opera writers American women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Women soap opera writers Women writers of young adult literature Screenwriters from New York (state)

Biography

See also

Sources

References

External links