Alice James (August 7, 1848 – March 6, 1892) was a U.S. diarist. The only daughter of Henry James, Sr. and sister of philosopher William James and novelist Henry James, she is known mainly for the posthumously published diary that she had kept in her final years.
Born into a wealthy and intellectually active family, Alice James soon developed the psychological and physical problems that would end her life at age 43. The youngest of five children,...
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Alice James (August 7, 1848 – March 6, 1892) was a U.S. diarist. The only daughter of Henry James, Sr. and sister of philosopher William James and novelist Henry James, she is known mainly for the posthumously published diary that she had kept in her final years.
Born into a wealthy and intellectually active family, Alice James soon developed the psychological and physical problems that would end her life at age 43. The youngest of five children, she lived with her parents until their deaths in 1882. She taught history from 1873 to 1876 for the Society to Encourage Studies at Home, a Boston-based correspondence school for women. By 1882 she had suffered at least two major breakdowns and would experience several more before her death from breast cancer.
James sought various treatments for her disorders but never found significant relief. In 1884 she and her companion, Katharine Loring, settled in England, where she remained until her death.
James began to keep a diary in 1889. Full of...
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