Fay Weldon: The Life and Loves of a She-Devil author dies aged 91

Writer Fay Weldon, champion known for books including 1983's The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, has died astatine the property of 91.

The writer published much than 30 novels crossed her career, arsenic good arsenic collections of abbreviated stories, films for television, and pieces of journalism.

Weldon was calved successful the UK but was brought up successful New Zealand.

She published her archetypal caller successful 1967 and went connected to beryllium shortlisted for the Booker and Whitbread lit prizes for her works Praxis and Worst Fears.

Weldon's witty, cutting and mischievous stories astir the lives and loves of women often drew connected her ain colourful and turbulent backstage beingness and relationships.

Weldon started retired arsenic an advertizing copywriter, devising slogans similar the celebrated "Go to enactment connected an egg", earlier becoming established arsenic a novelist and scriptwriter.

She had aggregate TV and vigor credits to her name, and successful 1971 wrote the archetypal occurrence of bid Upstairs, Downstairs.

The Life and Loves of a She-Devil followed Ruth Patchett, a pistillate who sought revenge aft discovering her accountant hubby has been having an matter with an elegant novelist.

It went connected to go a BBC TV bid starring Dennis Waterman, Patricia Hodge and Miriam Margolyes. In the US, it became a Meryl Streep movie simply titled She Devil.

Weldon's different best-known works included 1989's The Cloning of Joanna May, which was besides adapted for the tiny surface and besides starred Hodge, alongside Brian Cox and Peter Capaldi.

She said she deliberately wrote astir women who were often overlooked oregon not featured successful the media. Feminism played a salient relation successful overmuch of Weldon's work, though immoderate of her views astir women's lives meant her narration with feminism was complicated.

She was nominated for the Booker successful 1979 for her sixth caller Praxis. The Times professional Clare Clark precocious praised it arsenic her champion work, saying the writer acceptable herself the task of "disabusing women of conscionable astir each comforting story they mightiness cling to, firing disconnected savage truths arsenic though it is simply a novelist's work to interruption 3 taboos earlier breakfast".

Weldon told The Guardian successful 2006: "Praxis was the publication that made my reputation, but it was lone due to the fact that I had gone done the archetypal draught taking retired each the jokes that anyone took it seriously. I didn't bash that again with immoderate different book, and I've since been considered alternatively frivolous successful immoderate circles."

The writer was chosen to seat the Booker judging sheet successful 1983. At that ceremony, she gave a code astir however severely publishers treated their writers, which angered 1 steadfast truthful overmuch that helium walked implicit and punched her agent.

Her Whitbread information came successful 1996 for Worst Fears, successful which an histrion indispensable look her fearfulness of being cheated connected by her husband.

Weldon besides won the PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award came the aforesaid twelvemonth for Wicked Women, a abbreviated communicative collection. She was besides awarded a Los Angeles Times Fiction Prize, and was made a CBE successful 2001.

In 2017, she wrote Death of a She-Devil, a sequel to The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, successful which Ruth is present 84 and has made a satellite with "women triumphant, men submissive".

Weldon was besides prof of originative penning astatine Bath Spa University and Brunel University.