Rona Jaffe
Encyclopedia
Rona Jaffe was a popular American
novelist, publishing numerous works from 1958-2003. She may have been best known for her controversial novel, Mazes and Monsters
(1981). During the 1960s she also wrote cultural pieces for the magazine Cosmopolitan as the new editor Helen Gurley Brown
markedly changed its character.
, New York
, Jaffe grew up in affluent circumstances on the Upper East Side
of Manhattan
, the only child of Samuel Jaffe, an elementary-school principal and his first wife, Diana (née Ginsberg). Her maternal grandfather was Moses Ginsberg, a millionaire
construction magnate who built the Carlyle Hotel
.
Jaffe wrote her first book, The Best of Everything
, while working as an associate editor at Fawcett Publications
in the 1950s. Published in 1958, it was later adapted as a movie
by the same title, starring Joan Crawford
. The book has been described as distinctly "pre-women's liberation" in the way it depicts women in the working world. Camille Paglia
noted in 2004 that the book and popular HBO series Sex and the City
had much in common in that the characters in both (who have similar lives) are "very much at the mercy of cad
s."
During the late 1960s Jaffe was hired by Helen Gurley Brown
to write cultural pieces for Cosmopolitan, with a "Sex and the Single Girl" slant.
In 1981 she published Mazes and Monsters
, which depicted a Dungeons & Dragons
-like game that caused disorientation and hallucinations among its players and incited them to violence and attempted suicide
. The book was controversial as it appeared to be based in part on the apocryphal 1979 steam tunnel incident
. Soon it seemed related to Patricia Pulling
's accusations in the 1980s that D&D and other role-playing games encouraged devil worship
and other "evils". The book was adapted as a television movie
starring a young Tom Hanks
.
Jaffe published seventeen novels during her career.
She died in 2005 in London
from cancer, aged 74.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist, publishing numerous works from 1958-2003. She may have been best known for her controversial novel, Mazes and Monsters
Mazes and Monsters (novel)
Mazes and Monsters is a 1981 novel by Rona Jaffe. The novel is a cautionary tale regarding the then-new hobby of fantasy role-playing games. The book was adapted into a made-for-television movie by the same name in 1982 starring young Tom Hanks....
(1981). During the 1960s she also wrote cultural pieces for the magazine Cosmopolitan as the new editor Helen Gurley Brown
Helen Gurley Brown
Helen Gurley Brown , is an author, publisher, and businesswoman. She was editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years.-Personal life and career:...
markedly changed its character.
Early life and education
Born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Jaffe grew up in affluent circumstances on the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, the only child of Samuel Jaffe, an elementary-school principal and his first wife, Diana (née Ginsberg). Her maternal grandfather was Moses Ginsberg, a millionaire
construction magnate who built the Carlyle Hotel
Carlyle Hotel
The Carlyle Hotel, known formally as The Carlyle, is a combination luxury and residential hotel located at 35 East 76th Street on the northeast corner of Madison Avenue, in the Upper East Side area of New York City...
.
Jaffe wrote her first book, The Best of Everything
The Best of Everything
The Best of Everything is the first novel by Rona Jaffe. It is the story of five young employees of a New York publishing company.-Adaptions:...
, while working as an associate editor at Fawcett Publications
Fawcett Publications
Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett . At the age of 16, Fawcett ran away from home to join the Army, and the Spanish-American War took him to the Philippines. Back in Minnesota, he became a...
in the 1950s. Published in 1958, it was later adapted as a movie
The Best of Everything (1959 film)
The Best of Everything is a 20th Century-Fox film starring Hope Lange, Diane Baker, Suzy Parker, Stephen Boyd, Louis Jourdan, Robert Evans, and Joan Crawford...
by the same title, starring Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
. The book has been described as distinctly "pre-women's liberation" in the way it depicts women in the working world. Camille Paglia
Camille Paglia
Camille Anna Paglia , is an American author, teacher, and social critic. Paglia, a self-described dissident feminist, has been a Professor at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since 1984...
noted in 2004 that the book and popular HBO series Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
had much in common in that the characters in both (who have similar lives) are "very much at the mercy of cad
Rake (character)
A rake, short for rakehell, is a historic term applied to a man who is habituated to immoral conduct, frequently a heartless womanizer. Often a rake was a man who wasted his fortune on gambling, wine, women and song, incurring lavish debts in the process...
s."
During the late 1960s Jaffe was hired by Helen Gurley Brown
Helen Gurley Brown
Helen Gurley Brown , is an author, publisher, and businesswoman. She was editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years.-Personal life and career:...
to write cultural pieces for Cosmopolitan, with a "Sex and the Single Girl" slant.
In 1981 she published Mazes and Monsters
Mazes and Monsters (novel)
Mazes and Monsters is a 1981 novel by Rona Jaffe. The novel is a cautionary tale regarding the then-new hobby of fantasy role-playing games. The book was adapted into a made-for-television movie by the same name in 1982 starring young Tom Hanks....
, which depicted a Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
-like game that caused disorientation and hallucinations among its players and incited them to violence and attempted suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. The book was controversial as it appeared to be based in part on the apocryphal 1979 steam tunnel incident
Steam tunnel incident
James Dallas Egbert III was a student at Michigan State University who was incorrectly alleged to have disappeared into the school's steam tunnels for reasons related to the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons ....
. Soon it seemed related to Patricia Pulling
Patricia Pulling
Patricia A. Pulling was an anti-occult campaigner from Richmond, Virginia, and the founder of Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons , an advocacy group that was dedicated to the regulation of the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons and other such games.-Biography:Pulling formed the organization...
's accusations in the 1980s that D&D and other role-playing games encouraged devil worship
Satanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
and other "evils". The book was adapted as a television movie
Mazes and Monsters
Mazes and Monsters is a 1982 made-for-TV movie directed by Steven Hilliard Stern about a group of college students and their interest in a fictitious role-playing game of the same name. The movie starred a 26-year-old Tom Hanks in his first major leading film role.- Background :The film was...
starring a young Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
.
Jaffe published seventeen novels during her career.
She died in 2005 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
from cancer, aged 74.