Alive James, A Biography - Jean Strouse

See here's a case where you (me in this case), gets to learn something new: Jean Strouse was a cultural critic and wrote/edited for all sorts of Big Names in the literary world including the NY Review of Books - yowza!  Alice James: A Biography written in 1980 is an interesting look at what we'll call 'little sister syndrome' where a woman is only known for the success of her brothers, in this case the famous James brothers, William and Henry, the big shot psychologist and novelist. Strouse shows how Alice struggled through various illnesses (including hysteria, which every woman of that time was said to have a touch of), to create her remarkable diary and place her in a kind of 'feminist icon' role - being a woman who fought against all odds to become herself, for herself. This is a NYRB copy (of course!), and in good condition with a few bends, just like all of us.