I absolutely feel that is indeed what I read. I recommend this book. Jan 13, Kyle rated it liked it. I've been fascinated by the James family for some time. I enjoy Henry's novels and William's philosophy. I have always wondered, especially after reading biographies of William and Henry, how their three less famous siblings, Wilky, Robertson, and Alice dealt with their brothers' fame.
Strouse's biography did an excellent job of capturing the wit of Alice James, as well as the sense of what might have been if Alice had been born in a different age, an age where women had the same opportunities as I've been fascinated by the James family for some time.
Alice James
Strouse's biography did an excellent job of capturing the wit of Alice James, as well as the sense of what might have been if Alice had been born in a different age, an age where women had the same opportunities as men. Alice's story is a tragedy and at times it's hard to sympathize with her acerbic tongue and her attention seeking fits of poor health. But James' writing is so eloquent and hilarious: Do you suppose he vainly tries to escape it, or is he passive in its clutches or can it be possible that some memory of the joy still survives which irradiated his being, the first time he heard it from his lips in the springtime of his practice?
Mar 30, Richard Kramer rated it liked it. I probably would give it five stars if I finished it.
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But what are the odds? She was one crazy skirt, this Alice, fucked by being a woman at the wrong time, with two Elephant in the Room brothers Henry and William and fairly nuts to begin with.
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The book is thrilling, profound, and if I were a better person I would almost certainly finish it. Maybe one day I will be a better person. I recommend this, the first hundred page i've read a hundred pages. I recommend this, the first hundred pages, anyway. I like books about women at the wrong time; cf Claire Tomalin's wonderful book which I did finish about Dickens' mistress Ellen Ternan.
A breathtaking, endlessly fascinating account of a life that, however unique, can be read as coextensive with those of so many feminine ciphers of the nineteenth century. Strouse never pities her subject, but makes of her psychological and physical struggles a kind of art form that ultimately bears noble comparison with those of her more famous brothers. What is especially remarkable is how fully realized Strouse's portrait is, given the shocking absence of documents from which to draw, and yet A breathtaking, endlessly fascinating account of a life that, however unique, can be read as coextensive with those of so many feminine ciphers of the nineteenth century.
What is especially remarkable is how fully realized Strouse's portrait is, given the shocking absence of documents from which to draw, and yet for all its perceptive analysis of James' peculiar life, she avoids subjecting her tender subject to intrusive pathological analysis. One of the most remarkable biographies I have ever read. Jun 01, Lauren Albert rated it really liked it Shelves: If I had stopped half-way through, this would have been a "3.
When Strouse turns to Alice's own words, diaries and letters, it and she becomes more interesting.
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Sep 04, Barbara rated it liked it Shelves: I found the analysis of feminism in the 19th century interesting but the life of Alice James, sister to famous William and Henry, was circumscribed by illness and of little accomplishment. The author seemed to be striving to make her subject's life have more meaning than it ultimately did. Dec 29, Cynthia rated it really liked it Shelves: In addition to showing me more than I had ever known about the complexities of being a James, this book provides a picture of the contradictory impulses that strained the lives of women in an elite intellectual circle just after the end of the Civil War.
Sep 22, Joan rated it liked it. I always find the James family interesting. A rich environment for a young man but poor Alice, surrounded by all those colorful men. Much material to be analyzed. I wonder how Alice would be diagnosed and treated today. And what she might have accomplished. Beautifully written, with close attention to language and cultural context, and clear-sighted empathy for a situation that it would be easy to play up "hysteria," famous brothers, family rivalry, etc. Those out of their Ambien rx. Unless Strouse is giving away cash for good reviews, I am mystified by the strength of praise for this book.
For a biography, that's pretty lame. Mar 19, Jean rated it it was ok. Read for bookclubs, and was interested due to the subjects famous brothers, the author, and psychologist. However, had a hard time holding my interest thoughout to the end. Interesting, but quite dry. Dec 19, Gary Norris rated it it was amazing. Paula McCavigan rated it really liked it Sep 02, Kate Harper rated it really liked it Apr 25, Flaubertian rated it it was amazing Dec 15, Muffy rated it liked it Feb 24, Deborah rated it really liked it Jul 23, Donna rated it really liked it Mar 09, Trevor rated it it was amazing Aug 14, Sally rated it liked it Jun 22, Anne rated it really liked it Apr 02, A Biography, by Jean Strouse 1 6 Oct 18, Jean Strouse born is an American biographer, cultural administrator, and critic.
She is best known for her biographies of diarist Alice James and financier J. She was a book critic at Newsweek magazine from to , and won a MacArthur Fellowship in September, She has also held f Jean Strouse born is an American biographer, cultural administrator, and critic. Books by Jean Strouse.
Trivia About Alice James. No trivia or quizzes yet. Quotes from Alice James.
By Trevor Berrett T Book Reviews , Jean Strouse Tags: September 12th, 2 Comments. Charles Bovary, Country Doctor: Portrait of a Simple Man.
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Alice James : NPR
August 31st, 2 Comments. August 30th, 0 Comments. Lee Monks February 27, at 8: The mopey, sickly, completely forgettable Alice. And yet Alice proved herself to be quite unforgettable, as Jean Strouse's biography Alice James: It seemed an unlikely fate. Alice never entered marriage, the most proper "occupation," as she called it, for a woman of her time. She had the unfortunate fate of coming of age in post-Civil War Massachusetts, after the mass casualties of the war and the call of the West took away most of the men.
She never held down a job, despite women of her generation moving into the workforce. She spent most of her life in bed, either ill or pretending to be until even she couldn't tell the difference; being waited on by her parents, then her brother Henry, and then the woman who became her lifelong companion, Katherine Loring. She never published anything during her lifetime, except one small anonymous Letter To the Editor, which she pasted clippings of into her diary. In fact, it was that diary, published posthumously, that saved her from being just another victim of neurasthenia a less convulsive sister-disease to Europe's hysteria , or just another underachieving sibling overshadowed by the greats who came before.
Her diary, published in its complete form in , more than 70 years after her death, revealed Alice to be not only the lost James sister, but also equal parts artist and intellectual, with a writing style equal parts elegant and salty.