JANEWAY, Elizabeth (Hall) 1913-2005

OBITUARY NOTICE— See index for CA sketch: Born October 7, 1913, in Brooklyn, NY; died January 15, 2005, in Rye, NY. Author. Janeway was a popular novelist who later in life turned to writing critically praised feminist nonfiction. A 1935 graduate of Barnard College, where she earned a B.A., she began publishing popular novels in the 1940s. Her first, The Walsh Girls (1943), was an immediate success, and her second, Daisy Kenyon (1945), was adapted as a film starring Joan Crawford. Janeway went on to publish five more novels, but in the 1960s the women's movement attracted her attention after she wrote a book review on a feminist piece. At first, she wanted to write about women's rights in a novel, but found the subject too large for the genre. As a result, Janeway began to write nonfiction. Man's World—Woman's Place: A Study in Social Mythology (1971) proved an influential work that garnered critical praise for the author's accurate research. Books such as Between Myth and Morning: Women Awakening (1974) and Improper Behavior (1987) also covered feminist topics. Unlike some more radical feminists of the time, such as Betty Friedan, Janeway was less confrontational and less critical of the other gender. She merely tried to argue persuasively for such rights as equal pay for men and women who perform the same job. In addition to her support of the women's movement, Janeway was a champion of free speech. A former president of the Authors Guild who was also a leader in the writers' organization PEN, she tried to defend her peers against censorship. She also served as a judge for the Pulitzer Prize in 1971 and for the National Book Award in 1955.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, January 17, 2005, section 4, p. 9.

Los Angeles Times, January 21, 2005, p. B9.

New York Times, January 16, 2005, p. A24.

Times (London, England), March 7, 2005, p. 52.

Washington Post, January 18, 2005, p. B5.