Fay Weldon in Conversation

Craiglands Hotel, Sunday

WITH many years of writing about the lives and struggles of women to her name, Fay Weldon's work is as difficult to categorise as ever.

Refusing to fit in with the 'feminist' label, and rejecting technical writing methods in favour of her unique style and ideas, the acclaimed and at times controversial writer, gave some insights into the personal nature of her work to a sell-out audience at Ilkley's Craiglands Hotel on Sunday.

Weldon was at the first Ilkley Literature Festival 31 years ago - which she believes was her first such public speaking opportunity.

She began screen writing after initially working in advertising, and has been credited for the celebrated 'go to work on an egg' slogan, although she insists she did not think of it first.

Now 73, she has become celebrated mainly for her many books focusing on women's issues, although she is always keen to remind us that she has written a diverse selection, even touching on

science fiction. Her latest project is writing for an opera.

She told her interviewer for the day, James Nash, that her latest book, She May Not Leave, is the culmination of her writing about women, and she plans to 'do other things' in future.

But with books such as The Life and Loves of a She Devil - the story of the spurned wife and mother's ultimate revenge - to her credit, Weldon, is still looked upon by many as a key figure in women's rights.

The very female-dominated audience at the Craiglands, punctuated only by a minority of slightly uncomfortable-looking men, were keen to hear her views on the future direction of

feminism. More than a few eyebrows were raised by her answers.

Did she really say unequal pay was a good thing if it persuaded women to take time out of their hard-won careers to give full attention to their young children?

She freely admits she was tougher on men in the days when women were struggling for the right to enter the workplace and make their own choices about marriage and having children. But from her experience of bringing up four sons and three stepsons, Weldon fears gender warfare may have 'gone too far the other way'.

She said: "I think that feminism succeeded in that it brought about a world in which women can earn, as soon as you earn you're free in your own life. The stigma about being unmarried is gone, by and large.

"Women are free. But I feel that women will go on insisting that they're victims, and this is very annoying."

Asked what she thought of the lager-swilling ladette culture, Weldon declared it was 'horrible to see', but is also confident that wild young women will grow up and settle down after a few too many bad headaches, and choose to have their own children.

The evolution of family priorities and childcare is a topic that fascinates Weldon, she admits, as well as the incredible individuality of each person's life.

Back in the 1950s, she says, a woman would be expected to package her children off to boarding school and follow her husband. These days, the mother would stay with her children and let the husband go off elsewhere to work

She May Not Leave is an account of a modern couple hiring a domestic paragon of an au pair to help them solve various domestic pressures, but also risking the stability of their relationship.

Much of the tale is told via the all-knowing cynic grandmother, Frances, a fictitious sister which Weldon actually invented many years ago to deflect unwanted press attention.

The audience was treated to hearing Weldon reading from her book, and she succeeding in bringing out all the subtle humour and personal touches she put into her account of a plain-looking domestic goddess intruder making

her mark on a household of disorganised dirty laundry and general baby fallout.

Such scenes are all too familiar to a present-day young couple struggling to combine a responsible family life with their own freedom and careers.

AMANDA GREAVES