Weldon, Fay (1931–)
Weldon, Fay (1931–)
British novelist. Born Franklin Birkinshaw, Sept 22, 1931, in Alvechurch, Worcestershire, England; grew up in New Zealand; dau. of Frank T. Birkinshaw (physician) and Margaret (Jepson) Birkinshaw (1907–2003, novelist who wrote Via Panama and Velvet and Steel, among others); sister of Jane Birkinshaw (who married the printer Guido Morris and died in 1969); studied economics and psychology at University of St. Andrews; m. 2nd husband Ron Weldon, 1962 (div. 1994); m. Nick Fox (poet); children: 4 sons.
With mother and sister, sailed for England following the war (1946); worked on the problem page for Daily Mirror, then as a copywriter for Foreign Office; became an advertising copywriter; wrote over 50 plays for radio, stage, and tv, the most well-known being episodes of "Upstairs, Downstairs"; published 1st novel, The Fat Woman's Joke (1967, released in US as … and the wife ran away); wrote many bestselling novels and plays, which often focus on complex female characters struggling with day-to-day difficulties, isolation, and failure, including Down Among the Women (1971), In Memoriam (1974), Female Friends (1975), Polaris (1978), Praxis (1978), Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1983), Scaling Down (1987), Life Force (1992), Affliction (1993), Splitting (1994), Worst Fears (1996), The Bulgari Connection (2001) and Mantrapped (2004). Named 1st writer-in-residence at Savoy Hotel, London (2002).