The Death of Fay Weldon: The Life and Love of a She-Devil The author dies at the age of 91

Author Fay Weldon, best known for works including The Life And Loves Of A She-Devil and Praxis, has died at the age of 91.

The novelist, playwright and screenwriter’s work spans over 30 novels, short stories and plays written for television, radio and stage, including ITV’s popular drama Upstairs, Downstairs and the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

A statement from the family said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Fay Weldon (CBE), author, essayist and playwright. She passed away peacefully this morning, January 4, 2023.”

The author previously told her readers in a statement published on her website that she was hospitalized with a broken back bone and then a stroke.

Author Fay Weldon has died at the age of 91

Fay Weldon with her son Nick Weldon and grandson Felix Weldon in 1998

A statement from the family said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Fay Weldon (CBE), author, essayist and playwright. She passed away peacefully this morning on January 4, 2023.

Author Jenny Colgan conducted tributes, describing Weldon as “awesome, wild and wonderful”.

Author Jenny Colgan conducted tributes, describing Weldon as “awesome, wild and wonderful”.

Weldon was born in Britain in September 1931, grew up in New Zealand and returned to Britain as a child. She then studied Economics and Psychology at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, receiving an honorary doctorate from the institution in 1990.

Weldon worked briefly for the Foreign Office in London and as a journalist before working as a copywriter.

The novelist, playwright and screenwriter is the author of more than 30 novels including The Life And Loves Of A She-Devil

She left that career to focus on her writing and published her first novel, The Fat Woman’s Joke, in 1967.

In addition to her prolific fiction career, she also wrote children’s books, nonfiction, and newspaper articles.

She was also one of the writers on the popular drama series Upstairs, Downstairs, which ran from 1971 to 1975, and received an award from the Writers Guild of America for the first episode of the series.

Much of her novels deal with issues surrounding women’s relationships with men, children, parents and each other, including the novels Down Among The Women (1971) and Female Friends (1975).

Her 1978 novel Praxis was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction and later she chaired the jury for the prestigious award in 1983.

She published a memoir called Auto Da Fay in 2002 when she was 70 years old.

Her most famous work, The Life and Love of a She-Devil, was about Ruth Patchett, a woman who seeks revenge after discovering her husband was having an affair with a novelist.

It later became a BBC series starring Miriam Margolyes, Dennis Waterman and Patricia Hodge.

Weldon’s other best-known works included 1989’s The Cloning of Joanna May, which was also adapted for television and again starred Hodge alongside Brian Cox and Peter Capaldi.

Weldon worked briefly for the Foreign Office in London and as a journalist before working as a copywriter. She left that career to focus on her writing and published her first novel, The Fat Woman’s Joke, in 1967

Weldon was also a professor of creative writing at Bath Spa University and retired in 2021

Marjorie Wallace and Fay Weldon at the Serpentine Gallery in 2006

She said she intentionally wrote about women who were often wronged or went unmentioned in the media.

Weldon once wrote: “What drew me to feminism 50 years ago was the myth that men are the breadwinners and women do the housework and look pretty. That myth eventually exploded, and I helped explode it.’

Weldon was also a professor of creative writing at Bath Spa University and retired in 2021.

Honors have been poured in for the “groundbreaking” author

After teaching at the institution for nine years, she was awarded professor emeritus status in recognition of her dedication to the university.

She was inducted into the CBE’s New Year Honors List in 2001 for her services to literature.

Weldon married poet Nick Fox for the third time in 1994.

Her later books included an Edwardian trilogy and a self-help book for aspiring writers, Why Will No-One Publish My Novel? (2018).