She was an influential campaigner who agitated for many types of social reform, including homosexual parity, vegetarianism, humanism, and animal rights.

Brophy appeared frequently on television and in the newspapers of the 1960s and 1970s, making her prominent both in literary circles and on the wider cultural scene.

A precocious child, her literary talents were kindled by her father, who encouraged her to read the authors he admired, including George Bernard Shaw, John Milton and Evelyn Waugh.

She studied classics at St Hugh's College; however, she did not gain a degree: the authorities asked her not to return after her fourth term.

After a period of psychological turmoil, Brophy worked as a shorthand-typist and shared a rented flat near London Zoo with a friend from Oxford.

At a party, Brophy met art historian Michael Levey (afterwards Director of the National Gallery 1973–87, and knighted in 1981), and they married in 1954.

Brophy and Levey rejected sexual orthodoxy and each partner was free to enjoy outside relationships; this unconventional set-up was happy.

For some years, Brophy had a complex amorous liaison with Iris Murdoch,[4] and later a stable love partnership with writer Maureen Duffy.

When that was suddenly ended by Duffy in 1979, Brophy had a severe emotional crisis, which she believed played a part in her developing difficulty in walking.

Hackenfeller's Ape was commended for its originality, and was awarded first prize for a debut novel at the Cheltenham Literary Festival;[6] the attendant publicity established Brophy as a novelist.

The Finishing Touch (1963) is a light piece, playing on the aerated, wispy dialogue of Ronald Firbank, an undervalued writer whom Brophy much praised.

Brophy plays with narrative consciousness; the text is dense with puns and allusions, forming a captivating consideration of gender and sexual orientation, language and meaning; overall, there is a serious political point.

In this wide-ranging study, Brophy illuminates the origins of man's self- destructive forces, taking a Freudian analytical approach.

She was a prolific contributor to the opinion columns and letters pages of the press, seldom missing an opportunity to comment on matters such as vivisection, the Vietnam War, or censorship – all of which she vehemently and cogently opposed.

With a largely pictorial format, the book follows the attempted romance between a Russian Prince and an Irish girl, who in fact rejected him.

In 1969, Brophy collaborated with Maureen Duffy to exhibit, at a London gallery, a display of their home-made three-dimensional "heads and boxes", which they designated "Prop Art".

Each artefact illustrated or evoked abstract concepts, using visual and verbal puns to plunder the unconscious mind and reveal punchy connections.