Theroux, Paul Edward (1941– )

US novelist and travel writer. His works include the novels Saint Jack (1973), The Mosquito Coast (1981), Doctor Slaughter (1984), Chicago Loop (1990), Kowloon Tong (1997), Hotel Honolulu (2001), and The Stranger at the Palazzo D'Oro (2003). His accounts of his travels by train, notable for their sharp depiction of socio-economic divides, include The Great Railway Bazaar (1975), The Old Patagonian Express (1979), The Kingdom by the Sea (1983), Riding the Iron Rooster (1988), Fresh-Air Fiend: Travel Writings 1985–2000 (2000), and Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town (2003).

Collections of short stories include The Consul's File (1977), World's End (1980), and Collected Stories (1997). Theroux is a frequent contributor to magazines.