It’s true that literature, an arena in which – even in less emancipated times – women have flourished, has also become a female comfort zone. The stats bear this out: seven in 10 English A-levels taken last year were sat by girls. In 2011, physics (the fourth most popular subject among boys) languished at 19th place among girls; at A-level, only 28 per cent of girls took mathematics; and the consequences were visible: women make up only 12.8 per cent of the STEM workforce.