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Francine Pascal
Francine Pascal
Born	Francine Paula Rubin; May 13, 1932; New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	July 28, 2024 (aged 92); New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Writer
Alma mater	New York University
Genre	Young adult fiction
Notable works	Sweet Valley High
Spouse	Jerome Offenberg (m. 1958; div. 1963); John Pascal (m. 1965; died 1981);
Children	3
Relatives	Michael Stewart (brother)

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]^[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]

Pascal died of lymphoma at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital on July 28, 2024, at the age of 92.^[5]^[9]

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) ASIN B0006W21ZY
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!. Penguin Group. 1982. ISBN 978-0-425-05300-3. OL 4255900M.
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
Little Crew of Butchers. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2017. ISBN 978-1-5482-1317-6. OL 44281796M.