Francine Paula Pascal (néeRubin, 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]
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][6]
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]
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) ASINB0006W21ZY
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)
