Brigid Brophy
Encyclopedia
Brigid Antonia Brophy, Lady Levey (12 June 1929 – 7 August 1995) was an English writer. In the Dictionary of Literary Biography: British Novelists since 1960, S. J. Newman described her as "one of the oddest, most brilliant, and most enduring of [the] 1960s symptoms."
She was a feminist and pacifist who expressed controversial opinions on marriage, the Vietnam War
, religious education in schools, sex, and pornography. She was a vocal campaigner for animal rights
and vegetarianism
. A 1965 Sunday Times article by Brophy is credited by psychologist Richard D. Ryder
with having triggered the formation of the animal rights movement in England.
Brophy married art historian Sir Michael Levey
in 1954. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
in 1983.
, Reading, between May 1941 and July 1943. She then attended St Paul's Girls' School
in London, before attending Oxford for a year.
A collection of Brophy's manuscripts are housed in Lilly Library at Indiana University
at Bloomington.
She was a feminist and pacifist who expressed controversial opinions on marriage, the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, religious education in schools, sex, and pornography. She was a vocal campaigner for animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
and vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
. A 1965 Sunday Times article by Brophy is credited by psychologist Richard D. Ryder
Richard D. Ryder
Richard Hood Jack Dudley Ryder is a British psychologist. He is a former Mellon Professor at Tulane University, New Orleans. He served as chairman of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Council from 1977 to 1979, and is a past president of Britain's Liberal Democrat Animal...
with having triggered the formation of the animal rights movement in England.
Brophy married art historian Sir Michael Levey
Michael Levey
Sir Michael Vincent Levey, LVO was a British art historian and was director of the National Gallery for thirteen years, from 1973 to 1986.-Biography:...
in 1954. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
in 1983.
Education
Brophy was born in London, and attended The Abbey SchoolThe Abbey School
The Abbey School is an independent selective day school for girls, in Reading, Berkshire, England. The school has Church of England traditions, although it accepts girls of all faiths...
, Reading, between May 1941 and July 1943. She then attended St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School is a senior independent school, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.-History:In 1904 a new day school for girls was established by the trustees of the Dean Colet Foundation , which had run St Paul's School for boys since the sixteenth century...
in London, before attending Oxford for a year.
Fiction
- The Crown Princess and Other Stories, Viking (New York, NY), 1953.
- Hackenfeller's Ape, Hart-Davis (London), 1953, Random HouseRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
(New York, NY), 1954, Virago PressVirago PressVirago is a British publishing company founded in 1973 by Carmen Callil to publish books by women writers. Both new works and reissued books by neglected authors have featured on the imprint's list....
(London), 1991.
- The King of a Rainy Country, Secker & Warburg (London), 1956, Knopf (New York, NY), 1957, reprinted with afterword, Virago PressVirago PressVirago is a British publishing company founded in 1973 by Carmen Callil to publish books by women writers. Both new works and reissued books by neglected authors have featured on the imprint's list....
, 1990.
- Flesh, Secker & Warburg, 1962, World (Cleveland, OH), 1963.
- The Finishing Touch (also see below), Secker & Warburg, 1963, revised edition, GMP (London), 1987.
- The Snow Ball (also see below), Secker & Warburg, 1964.
- The Finishing Touch [and] The Snow Ball, World, 1964.
- The Burglar (play; first produced in London at Vaudeville Theatre, February 22, 1967), Holt (New York, NY), 1968.
- In Transit: An Heroicycle Novel, Macdonald & Co. (London), 1969, Putnam (New York, NY), 1970, Dalkey Archive Press, (Chicago, IL), 2002.
- The Adventures of God in His Search for the Black Girl: A Novel and Some Fables, MacmillanMacmillan PublishersMacmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
(London), 1973, Little, Brown and CompanyLittle, Brown and CompanyLittle, Brown and Company is a publishing house established by Charles Coffin Little and his partner, James Brown. Since 2006 it has been a constituent unit of Hachette Book Group USA.-19th century:...
(Boston), 1974.
- Pussy Owl: Superbeast (for children), illustrated by Hilary Hayton, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Publications (London), 1976.
- Palace without Chairs: A Baroque Novel, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1978.
Nonfiction
- Black Ship to Hell, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1962.
- MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
the Dramatist: A New View of Mozart, His Operas and His Age, Harcourt, 1964, revised edition, Da Capo (New York, NY), 1990.
- Don't Never Forget: Collected Views and Reviews, CapeJonathan CapeJonathan Cape was a London-based publisher founded in 1919 as "Page & Co" by Herbert Jonathan Cape , formerly a manager at Duckworth who had worked his way up from a position of bookshop errand boy. Cape brought with him the rights to cheap editions of the popular author Elinor Glyn and sales of...
(London), 1966, Holt, 1967.
- (With husband, Michael Levey, and Charles Osborne) Fifty Works of English and American Literature We Could Do Without, Rapp & Carroll (London), 1967, Stein & Day (New York, NY), 1968.
- Religious Education in State Schools, Fabian SocietyFabian SocietyThe Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
(London), 1967.
- Black and White: A Portrait of Aubrey BeardsleyAubrey BeardsleyAubrey Vincent Beardsley was an English illustrator and author. His drawings, done in black ink and influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A....
, CapeJonathan CapeJonathan Cape was a London-based publisher founded in 1919 as "Page & Co" by Herbert Jonathan Cape , formerly a manager at Duckworth who had worked his way up from a position of bookshop errand boy. Cape brought with him the rights to cheap editions of the popular author Elinor Glyn and sales of...
, 1968, Stein & Day, 1969.
- The Rights of Animals, Animal Defence and Anti-Vivisection Society (London), 1969.
- The Longford Threat to Freedom, National Secular Society (London), 1972.
- Prancing Novelist: A Defence of Fiction in the Form of a Critical Biography in Praise of Ronald FirbankRonald FirbankArthur Annesley Ronald Firbank was a British novelist.-Biography:Ronald Firbank was born in London, the son of society lady Harriet Jane Garrett and MP Sir Thomas Firbank. He went to Uppingham School, and then on to Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He converted to Catholicism in 1907...
, Barnes & NobleBarnes & NobleBarnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
(New York, NY), 1973.
- Beardsley and His World, Harmony Books (New York, NY), 1976.
- The Prince and the Wild Geese, pictures by Gregoire Gagarin, Hamish HamiltonHamish HamiltonHamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half-Scot half-American Jamie Hamilton . Confusingly, Jamie Hamilton was often referred to as Hamish Hamilton...
(London), 1982, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1983.
- A Guide to Public Lending Right, Gower (Hampshire, England), 1983.
- Baroque 'n' Roll and Other Essays, David & CharlesDavid & CharlesDavid & Charles is a publisher. The company was founded - and is still based - in the market town of Newton Abbot, in Devon, UK, on 1 April 1960 by David St John Thomas and Charles Hadfield. It first made its name publishing titles on Britain's canals and railways...
(North Pomfret, VT), 1987.
- Reads: A Collection of Essays, Cardinal (London), 1989.
Contributor
- Best Short Plays of the World Theatre, 1958-1967, Crown (New York, NY), 1968
- Animals, Men and Morals, edited by Godlovitch and J. Harris, GollanczVictor Gollancz LtdVictor Gollancz Ltd was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz and specialised in the publication of high quality literature, nonfiction and popular fiction, including science fiction. Upon Gollancz's death in 1967, ownership...
(London), 1971
- The Genius of Shaw, edited by Michael Holroyd, Hodder & StoughtonHodder & StoughtonHodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
(London), 1979
- Animal Rights: A Symposium, edited by D. Paterson and R. D. Ryder, Centaur Press (West Sussex, England), 1979
- ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
Stories, edited by Giles Gordon, Hamish HamiltonHamish HamiltonHamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half-Scot half-American Jamie Hamilton . Confusingly, Jamie Hamilton was often referred to as Hamish Hamilton...
, 1982.
A collection of Brophy's manuscripts are housed in Lilly Library at Indiana University
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
at Bloomington.