Doris Lessing

A word or two on Doris Lessing, who passed away recently at the age of 94. A literary icon, whose works are perhaps better known than widely read, she was a key figure in mapping the continent of Africa as it came out of colonial rule and the position of women demanding a greater role in sexual politics, most clearly in The Golden Notebook. However, she also wrote passionately about a broader range of themes including domestic abuse and mental illness and a striking series of apocalyptic science fiction. Perhaps her greatest strength, in an age of manufactured media sound-bites, was a willingness to be outspoken and at times provocative, most obviously suggesting that 9/11 was less traumatic than the years of IRA terror in the UK. I would not want to re-open wounds by horse-trading numbers of victims but Lessing was actually correct that in pure numerical terms, more people died as a result of terrorist acts during the so called Troubles than on 9/11. Anyway, a sad loss.