Fay Weldon

Fay Weldon (born September 22, 1931, Alvechurch, Worcestershire, England—died January 4, 2023, Northampton, Northamptonshire) was a British novelist, playwright, and television and radio scriptwriter known for her thoughtful and witty stories of contemporary women.

Weldon grew up in New Zealand, attended St. Andrew’s University in Scotland (M.A., 1952?), and became an advertising copywriter in London. In the mid-1960s she began writing plays. Her first novel, The Fat Woman’s Joke (1967; U.S. title …And the Wife Ran Away), grew out of her 1966 television play The Fat Woman’s Tale. The novels Down Among the Women (1971), Female Friends (1974), and Remember Me (1976) focus on various women’s reactions to male-and-female relationships. Praxis (1978) is noted for the development of its heroine, who endures in the face of repeated disasters. Puffball (1980), a novel about motherhood, combines supernatural elements with technical information about pregnancy. The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1983) is critical of the roles both men and women play in supporting the ideal image of feminine beauty; Death of a She-Devil (2017) is the sequel.

Weldon successfully adapted several books, including her own, into television programs. She also wrote several episodes of the hugely popular series Upstairs, Downstairs (1971–75), about an aristocratic family and its staff. Some of Weldon’s other works included the radio plays Spider (1973) and Polaris (1978) and the stage plays Words of Advice (1974) and Action Replay (1979).

Among her later novels were The President’s Child (1982), The Cloning of Joanna May (1989), Darcy’s Utopia (1990), Growing Rich (1992), and Affliction (1993; U.S. title Trouble). Weldon’s other works included Splitting (1995), a novel about a recently divorced woman’s attempts to reconstruct herself and unite the conflicting personalities and voices in her head; Wicked Women: A Collection of Short Stories (1995); and Worst Fears (1996), in which an actress must face her fear of being cheated on by her husband.

Weldon continued to write into the 21st century. Her novels from this time included Rhode Island Blues (2000), about a woman who explores her family’s past, and Chalcot Crescent (2009), which is set in a world plagued by a never-ending recession. Weldon also wrote several series, including a trilogy about another wealthy family and its servants; the installments were Habits of the House (2012), Long Live the King (2013), and The New Countess (2013). The Spoils of War series features Before the War (2017) and After the Peace (2018). Among Weldon’s nonfiction works was the memoir Auto da Fay (2002).