Francine Pascal, Creator of ‘Sweet Valley High’ Series, Dies at 92
Francine Pascal, author and creator of the beloved Sweet Valley High book series, has passed away at the age of 92. Her daughter confirmed the news that she died of lymphoma in New York. Pascal was born in Manhattan, raised in Queens and later studied journalism at New York University. She began working as a freelance writer and published her first young adult novel titled Hangin’ Out With Cici in 1977 (it was later adapted into a TV special called My Mother Was Never a Kid).
It wasn’t until 1983 that she became a well-known author with the first book in the Sweet Valley High series, which went on to publish an incredible 181 books. The book series focuses on identical twins with very different personalities, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, who live in Los Angeles and attend Sweet Valley High. After the first 12 books, Pascal oversaw a group of ghostwriters to finish the series.
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When asked what inspired the series, Pascal shared in 2019, “A friend of mine had lunch with a [book] editor, a man, who said, ‘Why isn’t there a Dallas for young people?’ I thought about it, and I actually had a book [proposal] due. There are a lot of twins in my life. People are always fascinated by twins. You’ll never be alone.’ I thought about it, and this other soap opera thing was in my head, the one that I couldn’t sell. I sat down and I wrote a [character] bible and the first 12 stories. It went quickly because it was such a fertile idea. Bantam Books loved it. They ordered all 12.”
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“It was mostly very young, new writers,” she continued about the ghostwriters. “The story outlines weren’t chapter by chapter, more like acts. Don’t forget, they already had the bible, where I had written deeply into the lives of the twins and their backgrounds. With the characters, you knew what they liked, you knew what the walls in their room [looked like], every single thing about them. The writers had to use those [guidelines] and follow them strictly.”
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The book series inspired a TV series, also titled Sweet Valley High, starring twins Brittany Daniel and Cynthia Daniel. Pascal also wrote several novels including If Wishes Were Horses, The Ruling Class, Save Johanna! and the Fearless book series. She wrote scripts for the soap opera The Young Marrieds with her husband John, who passed away in 1981. She is survived by her daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Tell us, did you ever read the Sweet Valley High books?
Kid Stuff
June 2018
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