Fox, Paula, 1923–, American writer, b. New York City. Fox's six cooly acute novels reflect her own life, particularly her miserable childhood and its psychological aftermath. Poor George (1967), her first, was greeted with critical acclaim, as were most of the subsequent ones: Desperate Characters (1970, film 1971), her most admired novel; The Western Coast (1972); The Widow's Children (1976); A Servant's Tale (1984); and The God of Nightmares (1990). Never very popular, the books were out of print by 1992, but in the mid-90s they were rediscovered and republished, largely due to Jonathan Franzen's efforts. Her 22 children's books, which often treat difficult subject matter and for which she has won a Newbery Medal (1973) and a Hans Christian Andersen Medal (1978), are widely read. Fox also wrote a book of stories and essays (2011). She is the mother of author Linda Carroll and grandmother of singer Courtney Love.
See her memoirs, Borrowed Finery (2001) and The Coldest Winter (2005); Her Mother's Daughter (2005), memoir by L. Carroll, her daughter.
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