Brigid (Antonia) Brophy | Biography

Brigid Brophy, who died in 1995 after a long struggle against multiple sclerosis, lived one of the most interesting, emblematic careers among writers of her generation. She was an enfant terrible of the 1960s, a fearless and sometimes reckless controversialist, a tireless champion of a broader sphere of human and animal rights, and a campaigner for the dignity and prosperity of the writer's profession. Though she was a public figure for many years, a sort of byword of outrageousness for some observers--and there is no doubt that, her own denials notwithstanding, she did in part court publicity--she was entirely serious about art. Ars longa, vita brevis; but for Brophy, a classicist, the life outlasted her literary acclaim. After early and extravagant fame, she has lapsed into later undeserved obscurity. By the time of her death Brophy's work was mostly out of print; after years of campaigning for Public Lending Right...
(read more)