The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature (OUP, 1993) called Conway's autobiography The Road from Coorain 'a revealing account of the difficulties faced by Australian women of Conway's generation ... [the book] is also a valuable sociological representation of life in outback Australia and post-war [World War II] Sydney'. Her autobiography shows the reasons behind Conway's leaving Australia.

Conway completed a doctorate in history at Harvard and taught in Canada and the USA. In 1975 she became the first woman president of Smith College, Massachusetts. Conway also served on company boards and as a company director. She has published several books on the historical experience of American women and has written murder mysteries under the name Clare Munnings with Elizabeth Topham Kennan.