House of Wits: An Intimate Portrait of the James Family

by Paul Fisher

An American odyssey that reveals the fascinating complexities of one of history's most brilliant, eccentric, and daring families The James family, one of America's most memorable dynasties, gave the world three famous a novelist of genius (Henry), an influential philosopher (William), and an invalid (Alice) who became a feminist icon, despite her sheltered life and struggles with mental illness. Although much has been written on them, many truths about the Jameses have long been camouflaged. The conflicts that defined one of American's greatest families-- homosexuality, depression, alcoholism, female oppression--can only now be thoroughly investigated and discussed with candor and understanding.

Paul Fisher's grand family saga, House of Wits , rediscovers a family traumatized by the restrictive standards of their times but reaching out for new ideas and ways to live. He follows the five James offspring ("hotel children," Henry called them) and their parents through their privileged travels across the Atlantic; interludes in Newport and Cambridge; the younger boys' engagement in the Civil War; and William and Henry's later adventures in London, Paris, and Italy. He captures the splendor of their era and all the members of the clan--beginning with their mercurial father, who nurtured, inspired, and damaged them, setting the stage for lives of colorful passions, intense rivalries, and extraordinary achievements. House of Wits is a revealing cultural history that revises and completes our understanding of its remarkable protagonists and the changing world where they came of age.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Psychology, American History, Biography Memoir, Literary Criticism

704 pages, Hardcover

First published June 10, 2008

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying Fisher's presentation of family life among the Jameses, much more engaging for me than Matheissen or Lewis.
What I find a bit jarring, however, is his interpretive framework, which is a mish-mash of Alice Miller on the dysfunctional family, the doctrine of various 12-step groups it seems, including AA, Children of Alcoholics, Co-dependents Anoymous, and several others. Fisher should have offered at least a page or two in an appendix to justify his application of family theory, addiction theory and treatments developed in the 1970s and 1980s to interpret the life of a very unconventional family in the 1840s and succeeding six decades. Sometimes I have the sense that Fisher believes that these 20th century insights, perhaps true for American sub-urbanites of the 1980s and 1990s are timeless truths, applicable everywhere over all time. Maybe so, but I'd be much more willing to suspend disbelief if Fisher had only helped me a bit on this point, for I have absolutely no intention of rummaging through tens of thousands of pages of James family material to settle the question for myself.
Fisher presents absolutely no new information, which hardly seems possible at this point. Be that as it may, I find the book engaging even engrossing, despite having read tens of biographies of Henry Sr., Henry Jr., Alice, and William.

I must say as the book progresses Fisher's interpretive framework becomes progressively less instrusive, though it still informs his account. I am finding the book quite engaging.

I just finished the book. The second half of the book is quite beautifully written, well developed. Just the right level of detail. But again, Fisher has nothing new to offer. I'm wondering why he wrote the book at all, but I'm glad he did. It's quite a nice review of material that has been presented many times in the past, but then again, at my advanced age, I need reminders.

[R.J. Gilmour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each night I have been curling up in my bed with Paul Fisher's House of Wits: An Intimate Portrait of the James Family (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2008). It has been a pleasure to slip into their cosmopolitan gilded-age world and to travel back and forth between Europe and the United States with Henry James, Alice James and William James. Although Fisher's writing is often trite (he uses similes and metaphors used by the James children in their letters in his ensuing descriptions) and slips often into the psycho-babble so popular with biographers, the book has allowed me to differentiate all the James personalities. Reading a biography of the family allows me to arrange all the characters and events in my head and to place them in a more structured manner allowing me to understand better their fascinating world. It is also enjoyable discovering so many luminaries of the second half of the 19th-century turning up even if often too briefly in Fisher's family biography (Henry James' meeting with Isabella Stewart Gardener is surprisingly left out and his interactions with the Curtis family remain at the sidelines). At times it is like being at a party and wondering about someone fascinating who strolls behind the person you are in conversation with. One can't help but be curious about that other person while still striving to pay attention to your host. I find myself wanting to follow these often brief introductions and to see how all their stories interconnect. Thinking also about how to connect them together myself in the manner of Christopher Benfey's cultural studies of intersecting lifes (A Summer of Hummingbirds and The Great Wave) and Irene Gammel's biography Baroness Elsa. The group that Fisher follows is after all an important American family that moved in fascinating circles and includes characters that have continually appeared in my own set of readings and interests over the years (Henry James sat for a portrait by one of my favourite artists John Singer Sargent in 1913).

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography is an ambitious undertaking. First, a biography of one person is project enough, and Paul Fisher is taking on a nuclear family of seven plus Aunt Kate. Second, Fisher is also promising a fresh look at the James family incorporating modern views of psychology, addiction and the role of women.

Fisher succeeds as much as can be expected given the large volume of material to wade through and analyze. Given limitation on the author's time and a feasible size for a book, something had to give, and does.

The author's strength is clearly in description. The depth of his knowledge of this period makes the portraits of cities, steamships, expatriate life abroad, etc., the best parts and far richer than the portraits of the human subjects.

More links need to be drawn to help the reader understand the people. For instance, Henry Sr.'s devotion to the work of Swedenboug is frequently cited, but the philosophy and why it pulled on him is not explained. Alice (Miss), like so many women of her day is said to be marginalized within the family. Fisher does a good job with the results but how this played out in the formative childhood years is never explained. Wilkie and Bob are defined as self fulfilling prophesies of their parents expectations, but how the two young sons were marginalized is not shown. Similarly, the title implies that "wit" will be a central theme of the book, but the first example of wit comes somewhere around page 100.

This is a big ambitious book. While the people portraits could have been stronger, they were very good. The portrait of the period, the interpretation of the literary work of Henry Jr., the role of women as defined through the life of Alice and the general substance of the presentation are very good.

[Amy Lou Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping that the book would have more of a literary bent in terms of helping the reader to understand the works of Henry James. But I worked my way through this doorstop and learned about social history of this middle class family. It did help me to understand the East Coast social scene. I also thought it strange how often Fisher (and apparently the James family) wrote about the misery of the Wisconsin climate- although two of James children settled there. It's really not so different from NY. It appears that a belief that NY is superior to the Midwest has been on the minds of many for hundreds of years.

The damage of a severely paternalistic family is also apparent throughout the book. Women are expected to be quiet helpmates and men are pampered in this family. There’s no black and white, though. Despite all the social abuse, this family was full of people trying to do their best within the social context of the time. I do think that anyone who worked their way through this book would come away with a full-bodied understanding of this influential family and the building of East Coast society. Personally, I would have liked more lines drawn between Henry James' life and his writing.

[Gayla Bassham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completely engrossing, even if you don't know much about the James family. Henry and William are, of course the most famous; but in many ways I found their lives less interesting than those of Alice and Aunt Kate--two bright, frustrated women--or Bob and Wilkie, the boys whom the parents wrote off as untalented early in their lives. (I started reading the book because of Henry, but he mostly seems to flit from dinner party to dinner party.)

The prose is only serviceable. Fisher overinterprets at times, and at other times seems eager to stir up conflict between the siblings: for example, he describes Henry's "refusal" to attend William's wedding as hurtful when in fact William seems to have gotten married hastily when Henry was on another continent and had no opportunity to attend. (Sure, it's possible that William did this because he anticipated rejection--but William being William, it's just as likely he woke up one morning and decided to get married the next week.) Still, I found this book unputdownable.

[Brian Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

As advertised, this is a family biography centering on the generation of the author Henry James and his incredibly talented siblings. They are almost a "Royal Tenenbaums" of the academic world, with Henry obviously becoming one of the great literary giants, and his brother and father venturing to make names of themselves in science and psychology. Through learning of "Harry" and his family life, we see how their strengths - and their manifold weaknesses - impacted other others' lives and careers. We also see how a family of immense talents can test and strain each other, but also at times enrich each others' lives.

We begin with the grandparents and the emergence of Henry Senior and Mary James, their courtship and marriage, and Henry Senior's emergence as a philosopher and thelogian who was mentioned often at nearby Harvard, just a walk away from the James home in Cambridge, MA. William James is born first, then the famous Henry Jr., and Alice, Bob, and Wilkie. As they grow, we see how a precocious childhood leads to inflated expectations and the rich cultural and intellectual environment, as well as a comfortable financial existence, enable the children to begin to explore high pursuits. Both William and Henry Jr. find slightly divergent paths in philosophy and intellectual fiction, and remain very close until the day they die. Alice is somewhat isolated and it often shows. The brothers love her but she seems relegated to the margins and her health begins to suffer. She also appears to be bisexual or even homosexual, even moving in with her best friend for the rest of their lives. Bob and Wilkie get into all kinds of trouble as the youngest sons overshowded by their talented brothers.

Ultimately, we learn the most about Henry Sr, William and James Jr., and their sister Alice. William is not without his own fatak ckaws particularly in mental health. He also has a fondness for alcohol that is problematic. Henry is most likely also in the closet (I've been saying this for years and completely agree that he was very much in the closet). But together they have a bond that is tough to break. We begin to see the bonds splinter...even as a few of them achieve fame in their fields.

I do give this a high ranking, but it is probable that you should have an interest in Henry James or of late 19th century Boston intelligentsia to want to read this book. They read like an Ibsen family (who also makes a brief appearance in mention late - James naturally was attracted to his work), with hints of high intellectualism touching on madness. However, it is cogently and fluently written with a drive that makes you want to read more. Hard not to recommend it if this subject matter is your cup of tea. A book about intellectuals that doesn't get stuck in overexplaining avant garde movements but rather follows the flow of their lives and explains how their intersections impacted the family as a whole. Most likely to appeal to Henry James fans, but could also appeal to what I outlined above: a Gilded Age intellectual family with their triumphs and their tragedies who spent the majority of their life in the Boston area.

[Sull · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not enough about Henry, but then perhaps he was the least interesting to this biographer out of that famous trinity of children in this ferociously intellectual family--William, Henry and Alice James. However, I do find Henry extremely interesting so I could have done with less of Alice and William, and I found myself becoming curious about the younger two boys, Wilkinson and Robertson, who get very short shrift in this biography. So the book felt unbalanced from the beginning, tempting me to skip over the sections featuring tediously anxious over-achiever William and equally but differently anxious under-achiever Alice.

Yet it's a well-written & eryudite investigative study of this eccentric literary family, so eventually I got sucked in & read all of it... and I have to say Henry came out much the sanest of the bunch.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

House of Wits: An Intimate Portrait of the James Family / Paul Fisher. It is indeed “an intimate portrait,” which was for me one of the book’s pleasures. The book is very much about the family members and their relationships with one another. The dissection of their writings—primarily Henry Jr. and William’s—is relatively minimal. The in-depth characterization of parents and children and their 19th century lives was most interesting to me. The references to everyone’s letters and journals provide exceptional access to individual personalities and family dynamics. Now, I confess, my curiosity about their published works is stronger, stronger and more positive than it was when I had the “opportunity” to read them many years ago in college!

[Margie Kuzminski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a considerable investment of time and energy and was in the end disappointingly insular. With no Jamesian stone unturned, there was not room left for much of the larger context of their times beyond their immediate social and geographical circles. I am less informed on William than I thought I'd be - or that I thought there was to be informed on - and far more informed on Alice and Henry (Harry). Do I actually need to pick up a specifically William biography? It will have to be after a bit of a breather.

[Justin Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very pleasant, despite its length. Of course, I didn't need quite so much on the parents--nobody does--or on the childhoods (I know some people are into it). Mostly, I want to know about the children's ideas and writings. Fisher doesn't give enough of that, but it's so well-written that I really didn't care until I finished it.

[Janet Hartman · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF. The writing is not bad, not as dry as you might expect. I just needed something lighter for summer in the south. I may return to this during the winter.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was happy to finally check this book off of my "to read" list. I have been a huge fan of 19th-century history, the Jameses (especially Alice), and the social history of the late nineteenth century in general, for many years. I appreciate that Fisher's biography questions and challenges some of the more traditional and "given" readings of the James family (including, especially, Leon Edel), and recovering some of the overlooked narratives in their lives. Some ways he achieved this was by providing more context to the Jameses' many travels (especially overseas), and tracing the historical development of hotels, steamships, the telegraph, and other turn-of-the-century technologies. An incredibly valid (and necessary) acknowledgement Fisher makes is providing names and brief biographies (if available) of all of the "backstage help" of the Jameses' various residences (servants, cooks, valets). He also devotes great detail to the James women (who are often pigeon-holed in other biographies as one-dimensional "angel of the house" or "spinster" stereotypes), especially the family matriarch Mary James, her sister Kate Walsh, and the James family cousin Minny Temple. Fisher illuminates the James household as a subtle, hierarchical organism in itself, which provides a more realistic and "human" glimpse into the daily mechanisms of this family of "geniuses." (In other words, *someone*--and not the grown Henry James Junior, himself--prepared his meals and, amazingly, turned his socks right-side out every morning.)

These positive points ultimately overshadowed what I saw as some significant "misses" on Fisher's part. While this book was so incredibly well-researched, I often felt bogged down with peripheral details not necessarily related to what I saw as the scope of Fisher's narrative. For instance, his biographical tangents on some of the James family acquaintances seemed as a mere opportunity for Fisher to show off his archival chops. Additionally, the grace of his research was often bogged down with clunky language that tried too hard to appear witty and, dare I say, Jamesian, with predictable one-liners closing each chapter. I also found his use of theory to offer an occasionally fresh perspective, yet it was more often than not underdeveloped and scattered. And (perhaps the danger of writing such a long book?) some details were repeated to the point of redundancy. For example, do we really need to be reminded each chapter that William was Henry Senior's "favorite" son, or Alice, the only James daughter, was chronically ill and stifled within gendered Victorian conventions? The book's family narrative wittles to a conclusion featuring a predictable solitary figure, which took a disappointing turn towards the conventional "Jamesian genius" biographical narrative.

These criticisms are relatively minor considering Fisher's undertaking to provide a fresh perspective to these voices in American literary history. It is very clear that this book was done with much care--something I appreciate over all else--and I look forward to reading more of Fisher's books.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this as a general reader with no great knowledge of the James Family. What I had read of Henry James I didn't enjoy and I knew of William and that was about it. My knowledge of America in the second half of the 19thC was scrappy.

I found the book fascinating. It is a portrait of the whole family and of the age. There is more known about William and Henry and Alice and of their parents. Wilkie and Bob the younger brothers were seen as failures and they left no written trails of their lives. They both suffered life long ill health as a result of their Civil War activities and I wonder how they felt about the comfortable pampered older brothers who spent much (family) money and millions of words telling one another of their angst and minor inconveniences.

But of the Jameses we do know about; their lives were lived in comfortable European hotels and lodgings and in large family houses in New England. Their talents were indulged and allowed to grow although they did take a long time to develop. This is a life of privilege and it allowed these men to become leaders in their fields but they also developed into fussy and pampered old age.

I enjoyed the world of New England and Europe in the last half of the century. This was the age of the steam ships. The James Family seemed to go backwards and forwards across the Atlantic with no qualms. I always imagined it would be uncomfortable at the very least. There are the odd health resorts and cures in Switzerland and German doctors. And the difficulty Alice had in gaining independence from her family and the right to express herself.

Paul Fisher never makes their lives sound dull. I took a long time reading this and came back to it from time to time and always found myself becoming absorbed in this world of the Jameses and the privileged part of the 19thC. I still have no desire to read any more of Henry James' books.

[Oswego Public Library District]

Here is a fascinating and detailed examination of the lives of Henry James, Williams James, and Alice James. These siblings are part of a much larger family, but these three are the ones who have left a lasting impact on society.

Henry James is one of the major figures of trans-Atlantic literature. His works explore the clash of personalities and cultures between Europeans and the New Americans. William James was an important philosopher and psychologist. Alice James was a diarist who wrote about psychosomatic illnesses and wrote acerbic commentary on British life.

This is the story of their unorthodox upbringing, the influences of many famous people on their childhood, change created by the Civil War, and much more. Many insights into Victorian-era thinking as well as new philosophies emerging. The author has given readers a biography that is both interesting and comprehensive. -GD

Click here to place a hold on House of Wits .

One of Henry James' most famous novels is The Portrait of a Lady .

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

At 200+ pages into this 600-page volume, I found the author's description and commentary about the historical setting surrounding the James family to be quite interesting and enlightening. At the same time, he tediously rehashes (and manufactures?) his opinions of the mental processes and conditions of the characters way too often and too much, especially so since those opinions seem to be based largely in speculation. But at this point I gave him the benefit of the doubt and read on.

Midway, I found the book less than compelling for reasons mentioned above, but determined to finish it. I'm glad I did, for two reasons: The volume was educational in its larger context as an instructive piece on various historical trends and fads of the Victorian era on both sides of the Atlantic, and was interesting in its primary purpose as an analysis of the lives of the various members of the iconoclastic James family.

In summary, I am of opinion that Prof. Fisher made a longer, sometimes-more-burdensome work than most people are willing to read, but it was not without interesting insights, questions, and analysis.

[Maryann Jorissen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subtitle of the book,"An Intimate Portrait of the James Family", provides an apt brief summary. This large family is comprised of complex eccentric personalities. The book seeks to describe each personality in intricate detail. Then, it describes the convoluted relationships formed within the family among the personalities. The is the framework that is used as the story spans the lifetime of the James' family. Not surprising, it starts out being difficult to follow because it takes time to understand each person.
The clan starts out with the wealthy eccentric William James of Albany, NY. From there, the family tree descends. The story line allows the reader to truly appreciate just how much genetics shape each one of us, maybe more than we would like to think.
The author lays down the information he wishes to convey in a systematic format. The subject matter is deep though and voluminous. The people and their relationships within the story line can be difficult to follow. For this reason, I give the book three stars.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and detailed examination of the lives of Henry James, Williams James, and Alice James. These siblings are part of a much larger family, but these three are the ones who have left a lasting impact on society.

Henry James is one of the major figures of trans-Atlantic literature. His works explore the clash of personalities and cultures between Europeans and the New Americans. William James was an important philosopher and psychologist. Alice James was a diarist who wrote about psychosomatic illnesses and wrote acerbic commentary on British life.

This is the story of their unorthodox upbringing, the influences of many famous people on their childhood, change created by the Civil War, and much more. Many insights into Victorian-era thinking as well as new philosophies emerging. The author has given readers a biography that is both interesting and comprehensive.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the end, though well written, I didn’t feel this book was a huge addition to the cannon of biographies already devoted to various James’ family members. Most other biographies spend time on the familial relations and in the end it was another focus on William and Henry. Fisher also spends much of his time obsessed with Henry James’ sexuality. By applying modern attitudes and innuendo he comes to his own conclusions that don’t add to the discussion. Alice gets the same treatment. In the end the book itself was neither revelatory nor unique from the other biographies that I have read. Henry James fans in particular might enjoy this book, but as a biography in general it was meh.

For a full review visit http://ireadalotofbooks.com/house-of-...

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge Henry James fans and I am interested in Alice James as well. I feel lukewarm about the book. It's heavily focused on the father, Henry James Sr., who I felt is the least interesting of the two. Also, it's one of those history books that starts at the very very beginning, which I don't find too interesting. It's very fact based and straight forward. I was expecting more of a Henry James novel, quite honestly. Alice is also a very minor character in the book and I wish there would have been more of her. I got her diary from the library, so perhaps that will give me the insights I am looking for. That, and I'll read some of Henry Jr's books, called "Harry" in the biography. Dry writing, too.

[Dpdwyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent well written, detailed, biography of the James family, including patriarch and philosopher wanna-be Henry Senior, stolid long-suffering mother, Mary (and her live in sister, Ruth), as well as the five children: the proto-psychologist, William, the world famous novelist, Henry Junior, the relatively ne’er-do-well sons, Wilkie and Bob, and finally poor, brilliant, unappreciated Alice. It inspired me to think about my own family and how parents differentially treat and favor their children and how this impacts them their whole lives. For some reason I find this family particularly fascinating. I also recommend The Jameses: A Family Narrative by R.W.B. Lewis, which I read some years ago.

[Michael Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very scholarly but interesting work on how one family, one household, could produce both Henry James, novelist, and William James, father of American psychology. A bit dry, which is why it's taking me so long to finish it. Like the laudanum of the times, best imbibed in small doses. Fascinating study, though, on how the borderline well-to-do managed in 1800's New York and abroad.

[Lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this after reading The Master by Colm Toibin which I loved. This book is amazing - tying together the threads of the James' family's life and lives. Very compelling reading, interesting and well-written. One of those books that's hard to put down. Next step is to read a bit of Henry James. Guess I'm on a James run....

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very difficult book to get through. Full of useless info, for the most part, and repeated prose it ran on like Charlie Brown's school teacher. The references clearly show a great deal of reaseach on the subjects but I think it could have been presented in a lighter format. Heavy reading......not recommended for the beach.

[rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not knowing crap about the James family, except Henry James wrote heavy novels, the book was very detail and at sometimes a bit of a read. Hey, I need a little disciplined reading every now and then.

[Christi Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent easy read about one of the famous families across the pond who managed to survive eccentricities that would have driven many individuals mad. The genius of this family became the cornerstone of American Literature and Psychology.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who likes Henry James, this is a terrific biography. Loved every minute of it. While it is a large book, it read really fast. Fascinating.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting, but a little dry. took a while to get through

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting book. The James was connected by friendship and social networking to an astounding array of literary and historical figures from the 1840's to the early 1900's.

[Laura Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monster of a book. Liked very much.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wacky family the James were.