King's Lynn Festival goers met the popular prolific writer Fay Weldon at the Guildhall.
King's Lynn Festival goers met the popular prolific writer Fay Weldon at the Guildhall.
Introduced by Ion Trewin, editor-in-chief of Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 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.
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.
Her depiction of her colourful career including positions such as temporary assistant clerk in the Foreign Office for the pricely sum of £6 per week, working on the problem page at the Daily Mirror and writing the pilot for the famous television series Upstairs Downstairs, captivated the audience.
Now working on her next novel, she promised that Auto Da Fay 2 would not be far away.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here