Fay Weldon
Encyclopedia
Fay Weldon CBE
(born 22 September 1931) is an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrays contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal
structure of British society.
, Worcestershire, England to a literary family, with both her maternal grandfather, Edgar Jepson
(1863–1938), and her mother Margaret writing novels (the latter under the nom de plume Pearl Bellairs, alter-ego of the eponymous character in Aldous Huxley
's short story, "Farcical History of Richard Greenow"). Weldon spent her early years in Auckland
, New Zealand, where her father worked as a doctor. At the age of 14, after her parents' divorce, she returned to England with her mother and her sister Jane – never to see her father again. While in England she attended South Hampstead High School
.
She studied psychology
and economics at St Andrews
, Scotland but returned to London after giving birth to a son. Soon afterwards she married her first husband, Ronald Bateman, who was a headmaster 25 years her senior and not the natural father of her child, and moved to Acton, London
. She left him after two years, and the marriage ended.
In order to support herself and her son, and provide for his education, Weldon started working in the advertising industry. As Head of Copywriting
at one point she was responsible for publicising (but not originating) the phrase "Go to work on an egg
". She once coined the slogan "Vodka gets you drunker quicker". She said in a Guardian interview "It just seemed ... to be obvious that people who wanted to get drunk fast, needed to know this." Her bosses disagreed and suppressed it.
At 29 she met Ron Weldon, a jazz musician and antiques dealer. They married and had three sons, the first of whom was born in 1963. It was during her second pregnancy that Weldon began writing for radio and television. A few years later, in 1967, she published her first novel, The Fat Women's Joke. For the next 30 years she built a very successful career, publishing over twenty novels, collections of short stories, films for television, newspaper and magazine articles and becoming a well-known face and voice on the BBC. In 1971 Weldon wrote the first episode of the landmark television series Upstairs, Downstairs
, for which she won a Writers Guild
award for Best British TV Series Script. In 1980 Weldon wrote the screenplay for director/producer John Goldschmidt's television movie "Life for Christine" which told the true story of a 15 year old girl's life imprisonment. The film was shown in prime-time on the ITV Network by Granada Television. She also wrote the screenplay for the 1980 BBC miniseries adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
starring Elizabeth Garvie
and David Rintoul
. In 1989, she contributed to the book for the Petula Clark
West End musical Someone Like You
. In a 1998 interview for the Radio Times
she claimed rape "isn't the worst thing that can happen to a woman if you're safe, alive and unmarked after the event." She was roundly condemned by feminists for this assertion.
In 2000 Weldon became a member of the Church of England
and was confirmed in St Paul's Cathedral
, which was perhaps appropriate because she states that she likes to think that she was "converted by St Paul".
In 2006 Weldon was appointed Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University
in West London: “A great writer needs a certain personality and a natural talent for language, but there is a great deal that can be taught – how to put words together quickly and efficiently to make a point, how to be graceful and eloquent, how to convey emotion, how to build up tension, and how to create alternative worlds.”
During her marriage to Ron Weldon, the couple visited therapists regularly. They divorced in 1994, after he left her for his astrological therapist who had told him that the couple's astrological signs were incompatible. She subsequently married Nick Fox, a poet who is also her manager, with whom she currently lives in Dorset.
Weldon serves together with Daniel Pipes as the most notable foreign members of the board of the Danish Press Freedom Society (Trykkefrihedsselskabet)
.
Weldon published an autobiography of her early years, Auto da Fay (an allusion
to auto da fe
), in 2002.
http://www.saga.co.uk/saga-magazine/4-fay-weldon.aspx Fay writes candidly about having her knee replaced at 80, and her fears prior to the operation.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 22 September 1931) is an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrays contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal
Patriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination...
structure of British society.
Biography
Weldon was born Franklin Birkinshaw in AlvechurchAlvechurch
Alvechurch is a large village and civil parish of Bromsgrove district, in the northeast of the county of Worcestershire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Arrow, the nearest city is Birmingham, 17 km / 11 miles to the north, with the closest towns being Redditch, 8 km / 5 miles...
, Worcestershire, England to a literary family, with both her maternal grandfather, Edgar Jepson
Edgar Jepson
Edgar Alfred Jepson was an English writer, principally of mainstream adventure and detective fiction, but also of some supernatural and fantasy stories that are better remembered. He used a pseudonym R...
(1863–1938), and her mother Margaret writing novels (the latter under the nom de plume Pearl Bellairs, alter-ego of the eponymous character in Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
's short story, "Farcical History of Richard Greenow"). Weldon spent her early years in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand, where her father worked as a doctor. At the age of 14, after her parents' divorce, she returned to England with her mother and her sister Jane – never to see her father again. While in England she attended South Hampstead High School
South Hampstead High School
South Hampstead High School is an all-girls independent day school situated in Hampstead, north-west London. The school was founded and is still supported by The Girls' Day School Trust . The school operates over two sites, the Senior school and Junior school which are run as a single unit with...
.
She studied psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and economics at St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
, Scotland but returned to London after giving birth to a son. Soon afterwards she married her first husband, Ronald Bateman, who was a headmaster 25 years her senior and not the natural father of her child, and moved to Acton, London
Acton, London
Acton is a district of west London, England, located in the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross.At the time of the 2001 census, Acton, comprising the wards of East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton and Southfield, had a population of 53,689 people...
. She left him after two years, and the marriage ended.
In order to support herself and her son, and provide for his education, Weldon started working in the advertising industry. As Head of Copywriting
Copywriting
Copywriting is the use of words and ideas to promote a person, business, opinion or idea. Although the word copy may be applied to any content intended for printing , the term copywriter is generally limited to promotional situations, regardless of the medium...
at one point she was responsible for publicising (but not originating) the phrase "Go to work on an egg
Go to work on an egg
"Go to work on an egg" was an advertising slogan used by the United Kingdom's Egg Marketing Board during the 1950s as part of more than £12 million it spent on advertising, including a series of television adverts starring the comedian Tony Hancock and actress Patricia Hayes in 1965. The...
". She once coined the slogan "Vodka gets you drunker quicker". She said in a Guardian interview "It just seemed ... to be obvious that people who wanted to get drunk fast, needed to know this." Her bosses disagreed and suppressed it.
At 29 she met Ron Weldon, a jazz musician and antiques dealer. They married and had three sons, the first of whom was born in 1963. It was during her second pregnancy that Weldon began writing for radio and television. A few years later, in 1967, she published her first novel, The Fat Women's Joke. For the next 30 years she built a very successful career, publishing over twenty novels, collections of short stories, films for television, newspaper and magazine articles and becoming a well-known face and voice on the BBC. In 1971 Weldon wrote the first episode of the landmark television series Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
, for which she won a Writers Guild
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
award for Best British TV Series Script. In 1980 Weldon wrote the screenplay for director/producer John Goldschmidt's television movie "Life for Christine" which told the true story of a 15 year old girl's life imprisonment. The film was shown in prime-time on the ITV Network by Granada Television. She also wrote the screenplay for the 1980 BBC miniseries adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England...
starring Elizabeth Garvie
Elizabeth Garvie
Elizabeth Garvie is an English actress best known for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in the 1980 BBC dramatisation of Pride and Prejudice....
and David Rintoul
David Rintoul
David Rintoul is a stage and television actor.Rintoul was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. He studied at Edinburgh University and won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London....
. In 1989, she contributed to the book for the Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
West End musical Someone Like You
Someone Like You (musical)
Someone Like You is a musical with a book by Robin Midgley and Fay Weldon, lyrics by Dee Shipman, and music by Petula Clark.Based on a concept developed by Clark and Ferdie Pacheco over a period of several years, it is set in West Virginia immediately after the end of the Civil War...
. In a 1998 interview for the Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
she claimed rape "isn't the worst thing that can happen to a woman if you're safe, alive and unmarked after the event." She was roundly condemned by feminists for this assertion.
In 2000 Weldon became a member of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and was confirmed in St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
, which was perhaps appropriate because she states that she likes to think that she was "converted by St Paul".
In 2006 Weldon was appointed Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University
Brunel University
Brunel University is a public research university located in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom. The university is named after the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....
in West London: “A great writer needs a certain personality and a natural talent for language, but there is a great deal that can be taught – how to put words together quickly and efficiently to make a point, how to be graceful and eloquent, how to convey emotion, how to build up tension, and how to create alternative worlds.”
During her marriage to Ron Weldon, the couple visited therapists regularly. They divorced in 1994, after he left her for his astrological therapist who had told him that the couple's astrological signs were incompatible. She subsequently married Nick Fox, a poet who is also her manager, with whom she currently lives in Dorset.
Weldon serves together with Daniel Pipes as the most notable foreign members of the board of the Danish Press Freedom Society (Trykkefrihedsselskabet)
International Free Press Society
The International Free Press Society , founded on January 1, 2009, is a creation of the Danish Free Press Society. The stated purpose of IFPS "is to defend freedom of expression wherever and by whomever it is threatened".-History:...
.
Books
- The Fat Woman's Joke (1967)
- Down Among the Women (1971)
- Female Friends (1975)
- Remember Me (1976)
- Little Sisters (1977)
- Praxis (1978)
- PuffballPuffball (novel)Puffball is a 1980 novel by Fay Weldon, which was made into a film in 2007, directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Donald Sutherland, Miranda Richardson and Rita Tushingham....
(1980) - The President's Child (1982)
- The Life and Loves of a She-DevilThe Life and Loves of a She-DevilThe Life and Loves of a She-Devil is a 1983 novel by British feminist author Fay Weldon about a highly unattractive woman who goes to great lengths to take revenge on her husband and his attractive lover...
(1983) - Letters to Alice: On First Reading Jane Austen (1984)
- The Shrapnel Academy (1986)
- The Heart of the Country (1987)
- The Hearts and Lives of Men (1987)
- Leader of the Band (1988)
- The Cloning of Joanna MayThe Cloning of Joanna MayThe Cloning of Joanna May is a 1989 science fiction novel by Fay Weldon.- Plot introduction:Joanna May was once married to Carl May, the wealthy CEO of a nuclear energy corporation, but they have been divorced for ten years after Joanna was caught in an incidental love affair. Since then, Carl May...
(1989) - Darcy's Utopia (1990)
- Affliction (1994)
- Growing Rich (1992)
- Life Force (1992)
- Splitting (1995)
- Worst Fears (1996)
- Big Women (1997)
- My Mother said (1998)
- Godless in Eden (1999)
- Rhode Island Blues (2000)
- The Bulgari ConnectionThe Bulgari ConnectionThe Bulgari Connection is a 2001 novel by Fay Weldon that became notorious for its commercial tie-in: in exchange for £18,000 from the jeweler Bulgari, she was required to mention the name of the jeweler at least 12 times...
(2001) - Mantrapped (2004)
- She May Not Leave (2006)
- The Spa Decameron (2007)
- The Stepmother's Diary (2008)
- Chalcot Crescent (2009)
- Kehua! (2010)
Weldon published an autobiography of her early years, Auto da Fay (an allusion
Allusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication. M. H...
to auto da fe
Auto Da Fe
Auto Da Fe were an Irish new wave musical group formed in Holland in 1980 by former Steeleye Span singer Gay Woods and Trevor Knight. The band's sound incorporated keyboards and electronics. Woods stated "It was the happiest musical time I ever had so far. I learned so much. I was ridding myself...
), in 2002.
External links
- http://www.redmood.com/weldon/ created by Jan HanfordJan HanfordJan Hanford is a composer/musician who plays piano, harpsichord and synthesizers. Her electronica has been released under the name Human Response....
- Guardian interview and review of What makes women happy (2006 )- She describes her near-death experience and spiritual journey from atheism to belief in God.
http://www.saga.co.uk/saga-magazine/4-fay-weldon.aspx Fay writes candidly about having her knee replaced at 80, and her fears prior to the operation.