Thanks Cinnamon, I think actually I should try and find out what she gets up to online. As I’ve mentioned up thread, I’ve lived abroad for years (since she was about 10). So though I know her well, there is also loads I don’t know about what she gets up to. If she doesn’t know the F-word blog I’ll definitely get her onto that, but who knows, she might know it already.
I think she might’ve read The Handmaid’s Tale at school, but again, I’ll check and otherwise just lend her my copy. Sheri Tepper might have to go on my own list It sounds a little like this Dutch young adult novel I read as a kid, Triumph of the Scorched Earth, about a post-apocalyptic matriarchy.