Fay Weldon (1931 – 2023) overcame hard times and odd jobs as a lone parent, before becoming one of the top advertising copywriters of her generation. She moved into TV drama (writing the pilot episode of the iconic series Upstairs, Downstairs in 1971) then turned to novels – including the Booker-shortlisted Praxis (1978) and the feminist classic The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1983). Fay was a Professor of Writing at Bath Spa University and was made a CBE for services to literature.
