FAIRBANK, Janet Ayer

Born 7 June 1878, Chicago, Illinois; died 28 December 1951, Wauwautosa, Wisconsin

Daughter of Benjamin F. and Janet Hopkins Ayer; married Kellogg Fairbank, 1900

The older sister of novelist Margaret Ayer Barnes, Janet Ayer Fairbank was educated in private schools and attended the University of Chicago. A dedicated worker for woman suffrage, Fairbank was a member of the executive committee of the Democratic National Committee (1919-20), served as Illinois Democratic national committeewoman (1924-28), and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1932. During World War I she was a member of the Woman's National Liberty Loan Committee and of the Illinois Committee of the Woman's Division of the Council for National Defense. Before World War II, she was a national officer of the America First Committee, and in 1940 she campaigned for Willkie. Fairbank's most notable phil-anthropic activity was her 24 years on the board of the Chicago Lying-in Hospital, including service as its president.

Three of Fairbank's novels form a trilogy. The Cortlandts of Washington Square (1922) introduces Ann Byrne, ten-year-old ward of a wealthy New Yorker, and follows her growing up in the years prior to and during the Civil War. The novel concludes with her marriage to Peter Smith, a young worker from Chicago who promises they will be "partners." The Smiths (1925), set in Chicago, stretches from the Civil War almost to World War I, the story of a marriage: Ann's shattering discovery that to Peter being "partners" does not mean involving her in his business; the birth and rearing of children; and Peter's growth in wealth and status. Throughout, Ann's increasing strength and wisdom parallel the rise of the city. Rich Man, Poor Man (1936) centers on Ann's grandson, Hendricks Smith, and his wife, Barbara, tracing their involvement in Roosevelt's Progressive Party, World War I, and the suffragist movement. Though sometimes described as a "suffrage novel," the book does not depict the movement fully, and the portrayal of Barbara, the suffragist, is not completely sympathetic. Fairbank's interest was in character delineation, not in propaganda.

Her two other novels of note both bear thematic relationships with the trilogy. The Lions' Den (1930), a political novel, has as its protagonist an idealistic young Wisconsin congressman. His disillusionment, partial corruption, and eventual courageous behavior when tested make up the substance of the novel. The Bright Land (1932), perhaps Fairbank's finest novel, tells the life story of Abby-Delight Flagg, child of New England Puritans, brought up in a world where women face hard work and, all too often, early death in childbirth. Partly to escape her dour father, she elopes, and the second half of the novel tells of her married life in Galena, Illinois, during its years first as a boom town and then in decline. Like Ann Smith, Abby-Delight grows in strength and wisdom, but she has more humor and is less idealized than Ann.

Once popular, Fairbank's fiction is neglected now. Her favored Illinois settings during the 19th and 20th centuries are objectively presented, and her characters, particularly her women, are sharply and believably delineated. The novels move at a leisurely pace, sometimes with little action, although Fairbank occasionally attempted even battle scenes. In The Cortlandts of Washington Square, her impressionistic presentation—from the point of view of a young woman caught up in it—of the Battle of Gettysburg is gripping. Her studies of historical trends and political issues are serious and perceptive. Although the quantity is not great, the quality of her work is high; her claim upon our attention is greater than has been recognized in recent times.

Other Works:

At Home (1910). In Town, & Other Conversations (1910). Three Days More (1910). Report of National Woman's Liberty Loan Committee for the Victory Loan Campaign, April 21st to May 10th, 1919 (compiled by Fairbank, 1920). Idle Hands (1927). The Alleged Great-Aunt by H. K. Webster (completed by Fairbank, with M. A. Barnes, 1935).

Bibliography:

Reference works:

NCAB, 39. TCA.

Other references:

Chicago's Authors Celebrate Chicago (cassette, 1988). The Grolier Library of Women's Biographies (1998). Literary Digest International Book Review (Sept. 1925). NYTBR (15 Oct. 1922, 28 June 1925, 7 Dec. 1930). SR (7 Jan. 1933, 12 Dec. 1936).

—MARY JEAN DEMARR