That Was Then, This Is Now | S. E. Hinton Biography

Susan Eloise Hinton, known to her readers as S. E. Hinton was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1950, a setting that has influenced the majority of her young adult novels. In fact, Hinton is commonly credited as the person who revolutionized the tone of young adult fiction, by using gritty, realistic settings such as the Tulsa-like background of hers hugely successful debut novel, The Outsiders. Published in 1967, when Hinton was seventeen and a student at Tulsa’s Will Rogers High School, the book also set the standard for future young adult novels, by addressing hard issues that teens faced, such as gang violence. The novel was published under her initials, because the publisher feared that their audience, mainly young men, would not accept a female author, especially since most of her narrators are male. Even though Hinton’s gender was eventually revealed, she has used her initials for all of her published books thus far.

S. E. Hinton
S. E. Hinton

Hinton’s second young adult novel, That Was Then, This Is Now, featured the same type of setting and themes that made The Outsiders such a success. However, since That Was Then, This Is Now was published four years later, in 1971, it also addressed current issues, such as drug use, and examined the hippie lifestyle. Both The Outsiders and That Was Then, This Is Now were made into film adaptations, and the former was directed by Godfather director, Francis Ford Coppola. Hinton was actively involved with both adaptations, which featured such future stars as Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, and Tom Cruise. Two other Hinton novels, Rumble Fish, published in 1975, and Tex, published in 1979, were also adapted as films. Coppola also directed Rumble Fish, which he filmed in black and white to emphasize one character’s color blindness. Hinton’s most recent works include two children’s books, Big David, Little David and The Puppy Sister, both published in 1995. Hinton continues to live and work in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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