The time Fay Weldon, who has died aged 91, visited Norfolk

Now, following the news of her death at the age of 91, it will be a memory more poignant than before. 

Described as a sometimes-controversial feminist, Ms Weldon was a prolific novelist, essayist and playwright.

Fay Weldon gave an author talk in King's Lynn back in 2002 (Image: Newsquest archive)

Born Franklin Birkinshaw on September 22, 1931, in Alvechurch, Worcestershire, she was the daughter of Frank Birkinshaw and Margaret Jepson. 

With her mother and sister, Jane, they grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand, until Margaret brought her daughters back to the UK in 1946.   

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Over the course of her 55-year writing career, Ms Weldon published 31 novels, including Down Among the Women (1971), Praxis (1978), and Wicked Women (1995), as well as the novel The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1983) which was televised by the BBC in 1986 and later made into a film. 

She found early success in advertising, working as a copywriter for Ogilvy and Mather, where her team produced the well-known slogan "Go to Work on an Egg". And she also became a popular voice on panel shows like Radio 4's Start the Week.

The Guildhall in King's Lynn, where Fay Weldon welcomed her audience in 2002 (Image: Newquest)

A review of when Fay Weldon visited Norfolk from the Eastern Daily Press dated August 5, 2002 (Image: Newsquest)

It is no surprise then, that she was welcomed to Norfolk with open arms on August 5, 2002.  

King's Lynn Festival goers got to meet Ms Weldon at the Guildhall in the town centre.  

In a review by Lisa Powell, featured in this newspaper, she described how the author was introduced by the late Ion Trewin, then the editor-in-chief of Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 

Ms Powell wrote: “Ms Weldon touched the hearts of the audience with stories from her life as portrayed in the first volume of her autobiography, Auto Da Fay. 

Fay Weldon sits in front of a library of books (Image: Newsquest)

“She admitted that at times it was painful to recall and put down on paper parts of her childhood, which was mainly spent in New Zealand but where, through spending many happy hours in the library, she discovered the 'excitement of language'.  

“She charmed the audience with recollections of how, after returning to England in 1946 following the divorce of her parents, she attended university in Scotland and discovered boys. 

“She captivated the audience.”  

Ms Weldon died on January 4, 2023.