Title: Fox
Author: Joyce Carol Oates
Publisher: Hogarth
Genre: Literary Fiction / Psychological Drama
Year of Publication: 2025
Date of Publication: June 17, 2025
Pages: 672
ISBN‑10: 0593978080
ISBN‑13: 978‑0593978085
Audiobook Narrators: Max Meyers, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Kirsten Potter, Fred Berman, Matt Godfrey, Gail Shalan, Rebecca Lowman, Rachel L. Jacobs, Eunice Wong, Ina Barrón
Summary of Fox by Joyce Carol Oates
Fox by Joyce Carol Oates tells the story of a 41-year-old man named Francis Fox. Fox is a recently hired English teacher at Langhorne Academy, which is a prestigious private school. Almost everyone he meets finds him charming. He is in charge of the drama club and creates a book club called the Looking-Glass Book Club. The Book club, which is made up of twelve students including boys and girls, meets two to three times a week outside the library. Unknown to parents and other teachers, Fox is extremely manipulative with his students and meets with some of them in his office. He nicknames them “Little Kittens,” calls himself “Mr. Tongue” and “Big Teddy Bear,” and creates a website where he post pictures called “Sleeping beauties 2013.”
“0.15. Francis Fox.
But this is not Fox’s first rodeo. Before he was Francis Fox, he was Farrell Frank. He changed his name after an incident with one of his former students at a different school in Pennsylvania.
“Where Farrell is, Fox shall be….”— Narrator
One day in October, two brothers discover Fox’s 2011 Acura car half-submerged in a pond in a local nature preserve named Wieland Pond. The brothers also find an unidentified body at a nearby woods. The entire community are forced to ask disturbing questions about Francis Fox and what his relationships may have been with his students.
“For a fatherless girl is an exquisite rose on a branch lacking thorns, there for the picking; but a girl with a father in the family was, Francis Fox had learned from experience, so fully protected she might as well be a rose surrounded by thorns.”— Narrator
This book is really a journey into the darkest corners of the human psyche. It will leave you asking questions about justice and the response evil demands.
Main Plot & Characters
- Francis Harlan Fox: He is an English teacher at Langhorne Academy. Fox is charming and liked by many of his students, their parents, and his colleagues. His car is found half-submerged in a pond in a local nature preserve.
- Martin Pfenning: He is Eunice’s father. He is married to Kathryn but they are separated. He is 41 years old.
- Eunice: She is Martin Pfenning’s 13-year old daughter and has always been a nervous child with health issues. Eunice attends Langhorne Academy and joins Francis Fox’s book club. She is in eight-grade and initially was not taken by Mr. Fox. She developed an interest in taking pictures of wetlands birds and flowers. Eunice and her father were on a hike at Wieland Pond when they discovered the upper half of a child’s doll.
- Kathryn: She is Martin’s estranged wife and Eunice’s mother. She and Martin were married for 14 years.
- Detective Horace Zwender (Detective Z): He leads the investigation after Fox’s car and the unidentified body are discovered. He is not very skilled with using computers.
- Demetrius and Marcus Healy (The Healy Brothers): Demetrius is only 20 years old and is nicknamed Demmie by his family and some of the cashiers were he works. He and Marcus discover Francis Fox’s car and the body parts. Demetrius is considered slow-witted by many but when his father, who works as a custodian at Haven Hall at the Langhorne Academy, starts to have some health issues, Demetrius steps in to clean after hours on his behalf.
- Mary Ann: She is a cousin to Demetrius and Marcus and appears physically older than her age. She used to be very close to Demetrius. Mary Anne is in eight grade and got a scholarship that allowed her attend Langhorne Academy. She is also in Mr. Fox’s English class. Fox only took interest in her when he heard her last name and associated it with a man named Romulus Healy who is infamous for an attack against the Nazis.
- Lemuel Healy: He is Marcus and Demetrius father. He works at Langhorne Academy as a custodian and has some health issues. Lemuel has a drinking problem.
- Paige Cady (P. Cady): She is the owner of a dog named Princess Di. Cady works at the school as the Headmistress at Langhorne Academy. Initially, she was not set on hiring Fox as she saw him as performative but later on, he won her around. She kept inviting Fox to her home and he kept declining. She is 51 years old.
- Miranda Myles: She was a former student of Farrell Frank. She kept a diary that was found with some language that raised questions about Farrell Frank.
- Genevieve Chambers: One of Mr. Fox’s students. He convinces her to send promiscuous pictures to him and she continues to do as instructed. He also gave her a journal to write directly to him only. She likes to cut herself. Her father left her mother and her and went ahead to remarry and start another family.
- Katy Cady: She recommends Francis to her aunt, P. Cady, for the job position at the Langhorne school. He uses her financially and emotionally manipulates her. They met at a graduate seminar while they were at university.
- Imogene Hood: She is a newly hired librarian at Langhorne Academy. Imogene has feelings for Francis Fox and is charmed by him. She buys into his stance regarding boundaries that should be maintained between teachers and students and books that should be banned from the curriculum.
- Leo Paradino: Wieland Police Chief.
- Orin Matthews: Atlantic county medical examiner.
- Billy: He is the little brother to Genevieve.
- Officer Odom: He works with Detective Z as his subordinate but they have a somewhat passive aggressive relationship.
- Pete: He is Mary Ann’s brother and is a cousin to Demetrius and Marcus.
- Blake Healy: He is Mary Ann’s father and a brother to Lemuel Healy.
Writing Style
Oates tells the story using multiple perspectives and timelines. The story actually opens up from the point of view of a dog named Princess Di. We were skeptical about this but it all comes together pretty quickly to paint a very clear picture of the discovery at Wieland Pond.
Princess Di was being taken for a walk by her owner. While searching and trying to identify a smell, she discovers human remains. We also get the perspectives of P. Cady, Martin Pfenning, Demetrius Healy, Detective Z, Eunice, and of course Francis Fox/Farrell Francis.
Although it takes sometime for everything to come together, the book is actually quite fast-paced. The author’s descriptions are so detailed but it’s important to point out that some parts are cringey and will put you in a position where you feel helpless to prevent that which is happening. Other parts of the book paint a picture that will make you feel like you are in the middle of the setting described. For example, when Oates describes the atmosphere in Wieland Pond, you can almost smell it, hear the vultures, and feel the dampness.
“Smoldering stench, hits you in the face when you first arrive at the landfill then later you discover you’re not smelling it anymore.”— Narrator describing the marsh lands
The way the author describes the emotions of some of the characters and Fox’s manipulation will have you screaming, seeking vengeance, and hating on Francis Fox. The disdain he has for some of his students will get under your skin and if you are a parent, you may never look at teachers the same.
“All predators know that their initial prey may elude them, the experienced predator knows how to retreat, and recalculate.”— Francis Fox
Memorable Quotes
- A man can be a pure unabashed bastard yet there’s a woman who will forgive him.”— Farrell Francis
- “Always there are sturdy buddy-women who come forward when they are needed like a chorus in a Greek tragedy.”— Farrell Francis
- “…you had to think you were somebody special, to set up Hallowe’en decorations on this scale, to force people to look at them and admire them.”— Marcus Healy
- “Conditioning others to think well of us, not to wish to harm us, but to conflate in some way helping us with helping themselves- this stratagem, Francis Fox has cultivated over the years….”— Francis Fox
- “One is always conditioning others in order to make use of them at some future date; one must never condition others in a way to wish one ill. A warm smile, a squeeze of the hand, the communication of tenderness, listening attentively, or giving that impression – all these are valuable.— Francis Fox
- “Do not ever make an enemy needlessly. Of an enemy, make a friend.— Francis Fox
- “Quarrel with a friend, you can both walk away. Maybe you’ll walk back, or maybe not, that’s your prerogative. Quarrel with a wife, it’s carved into your very body. Bleeding wounds, even the scabs hurt. Quarrel with a child, there’s no quarrel. In a quarrel a child is always right”— Martin Pfenning reflecting on his parenting
Impact of Fox by Joyce Carol Oates
This novel makes readers reflect on who one can trust especially those in positions of authority. It also makes you concerned with how people can justify their wrong actions and how devasting the actions of one person can have on the lives of others. There are some other books that have explored this difficult situation including My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell.
Book Rating
Characters ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Plot ★★★★⯪ (4.5/5)
Writing ★★★★⯪ (4.5/5)
Book Cover ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Audiobook ★★★★★ (5/5)
Overall ★★★★⯪ (4.5/5)
Have you read The Fox by Joyce Carol Oates? What are your thoughts on this book? Let us know in the comments!
Authors
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