Alice James
Alice James was an American diarist and social activist born in New York City in 1848, the youngest child of Henry James Sr. and Mary Walsh James. As the only daughter in a family that included prominent figures such as her brothers, novelist Henry James and psychologist William James, Alice experienced a somewhat nomadic childhood, moving between cities in the U.S. and Europe. Despite her family's intellectual legacy, Alice did not receive a formal education, which was typical for women of her time. Nevertheless, she became well-read with the assistance of her brothers and developed a keen interest in charitable work and social issues.
Throughout her life, Alice engaged in various forms of activism, particularly in support of women and the poor. She contributed to the war effort during the Civil War and was involved in initiatives promoting women's education. In her later years, Alice faced significant health challenges, including anxiety and what was then referred to as "female hysteria," leading to numerous treatments and periods of institutionalization. It was during her illness that she began to keep a detailed diary, where she expressed her political views and critiques of societal issues such as British imperialism. Alice James passed away in 1892 from breast cancer, and her diaries, which provide insight into her thoughts and experiences, were published posthumously, first in an edited version in 1934 and later in an unexpurgated form in 1964.
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Alice James
Writer
- Born: August 7, 1848
- Birthplace: New York, New York
- Died: March 6, 1892
- Place of death: London, England
Biography
Born in New York City, Alice James was the youngest child of Henry James Sr. and Mary Walsh James. The only daughter in the family, her older brothers included novelist Henry and psychologist and philosopher William. With the rest of her family, James lived a somewhat rootless life in her younger years, moving between Geneva and Paris in Europe and Newport, Rhode Island, New York City, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. Although her brothers were given excellent educations, Alice was not. As was often the case with families during the first half of the nineteenth century, the higher education of daughters was not seen as necessary; the James family was no exception. At the same time, with the help of her brothers, James became well-read.
As a young woman, James was often interested in charity work and social and political activism. As a young girl during the Civil War, she worked to make bandages for wounded soldiers. Later, she worked in Cambridge in societies meant to provide aid for the poor; in 1868, she joined the Female Humane Society to help sick and poor women. She later joined the Society to Encourage Studies at Home, a group working to encourage the education of young women.
Like her brother Henry, James neither married nor had children. As she got older, she was often ill and in need of a variety of treatments. She suffered from nervous attacks and anxiety, among other ailments, and what was called “female hysteria” in the parlance of the times. In the 1860’s and 1870’s, she received motorpathic therapy, massage, electrotherapy, and would have herself knocked out with sulfuric ether. In the late 1880’s, she would take rest trips to resorts in the Adirondack Mountains. In 1883, after the death of her parents, she spent months institutionalized, trying various cures.
After relocating to London in 1884, where she suffered from rheumatism, gout, and bad knees, in addition to the nervous disorders that had always haunted her, she eventually became so sick that she was bedridden. It was during this period in the late 1880’s that she began keeping a diary in earnest. Her earlier political and social interests were realized further in her diary writings as she became more and more engaged in the issue of Irish home rule. Her diary also contained many critiques of British imperialism and the English class system. She died of breast cancer in 1892. Although her brothers initially considered publishing her diaries, Henry was reluctant to publish the text without first editing his own comments and personal judgments of their acquaintances; as a result, the diary was not published until 1934, well after Henry’s death, in a version that reflected many of his edits. An unexpurgated version was published in 1964.