Alice James：A Biography

TheJamesesareperhapsthemostextraordinaryanddistinguishedfamilyinAmericanintellectuallife.Henry’snovels,celebratedasamongthefinestinthelanguage,andWilliam’sgroundbreakingphilosophicalandpsychologicalworkshavewonthesebrothersapermanentplaceatthecenterofthenation’sculturalfirmament.Lesswellknownistheirenigmaticyoungersister,Alice.ButasJeanStrouse’sgenerous,probing,anddeeplysympatheticbiographyshows,AliceJameswasafascinatingandexceptionalfigureinherownright.Tormentedthroughouthershortlifebyanarrayofnervousdisorders,constrainedbysocialconventionandinternalconflictfromachievingtheworldlysuccessshedesired,Alicewasnonethelessavivid,wittywriter,anacutesocialobserver,andasalert,inquiring,andengagingapersonashertwofamousbrothers.“ThemoralandphilosophicalquestionsthatHenrywroteupasfictionandWilliamasscience,”writesStrouse,“Alicesimplylived.”