UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff NNeebbrraasskkaa -- LLiinnccoollnn DDiiggiittaallCCoommmmoonnss@@UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff NNeebbrraasskkaa -- LLiinnccoollnn University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books University of Nebraska Press and Chapters 2009 AAlliiccee iinn JJaammeessllaanndd:: TThhee SSttoorryy ooff AAlliiccee HHoowwee GGiibbbbeennss JJaammeess Susan E. Gunter Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/unpresssamples Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Gunter, Susan E., "Alice in Jamesland: The Story of Alice Howe Gibbens James" (2009). University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books and Chapters. 17. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/unpresssamples/17 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Nebraska Press at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books and Chapters by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Alice in Jamesland Buy the Book Buy the Book Alice in Jamesland The Story of Alice Howe Gibbens James susan e. gunter University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London Buy the Book © 2009 by Susan E. Gunter All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gunter, Susan E., 1947– Alice in Jamesland: the story of Alice Howe Gibbens James / Susan E. Gunter. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-8032-1569-6 (cloth: alk. paper) 1. James, Alice Howe Gibbens. 2. James, Henry, 1843–1916 — Family. 3. Sisters-in-law — United States — Biography. 4. James, William, 1842–1910 — Marriage. 5. Spouses — United States — Biography. 6. James family. 7. James, Alice Howe Gibbens — Family. 8. James, William, 1842–1910 — Family. 9. Women — United States — Biography. 10. United States — History — 1865–1921 — Biography. I. Title. ct275.j2915g86 2009 973.8092 — dc22 [b] 2008037796 Set in Granjon by Bob Reitz. Designed by A. Shahan. Buy the Book Dedicated to the memory of Alexander Robertson James and Frederika James and to Michael James Buy the Book Buy the Book contents List of illustrations viii Acknowledgments ix Introduction xiii 1 Stirrings 1 2 New Ventures 20 3 He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not 32 4 Alice in Jamesland 54 5 The Grief Child 79 6 New Directions 91 7 95 Irving Street and Beyond 111 8 On Sabbatical 123 9 The Will to Endure 144 10 To Bad Nauheim 165 11 Mendings 188 12 A Form of Use 200 13 The Lull before the Storm 221 14 Summer’s End 243 15 Last Things 258 16 The Philosopher’s Widow 270 17 Passages 292 18 Living Option 305 Appendix 1: Alice Howe Gibbens Genealogy 331 Appendix 2: William James Genealogy 332 Notes 333 Index 407 Buy the Book illustrations following p. 192 King Oak Hill House, Weymouth, Massachusetts, Alice’s birthplace Alice, Mary, and Margaret Gibbens, 1862–63 Daniel Lewis Gibbens Jr., c. 1863 Daniel Lewis Gibbens Sr., 1842 Henry James Sr., c. 1865 William James, c. 1865 Leonora Piper during a trance state 1902 sketch of the Chocorua house 95 Irving Street, early 1890s Alice H. G. James and Francis Tweedy, 1891 Margaret Mary James, c. 1890 Alice James, 1891 Alice H. G. James, Peggy James, William James, and Henry James at Lamb House, c. 1900 Eveleen Tennant Myers’s watercolor sketch of Château Carquéranne, 1900 Peggy James, c. 1906 William and Henry James, c. 1904–5 Alice H. G. James and William James, c. 1904–5 William James diary entries Robertson James, c. 1907 The “Bee,” 1915 Henry James II, c. 1905 William James on his deathbed, August 1910 Billy James, Alice H. G. James, and Eliza Gibbens holding William James III, 1913 Fredericka James, c. 1917 Bruce Porter and Peggy James Porter with Robin Porter, 1918 Peggy James Porter, Aleck James, and Alice H. G. James with Sandy, Dublin, New Hampshire, 1922 Buy the Book Acknowledgments first, i thank westminster college for a sabbatical leave and a Gore Summer Research Grant; I also thank the Houghton Library at Har- vard University for awarding me the William Dean Howells Fellowship in American Literature in 2005 to complete archival work on this book. Bay James graciously granted me permission to use archival unpublished James family documents; she also organized the memorable visit to Choc- orua, New Hampshire, in 2005, so that I could visit Alice’s summer home. Alice H. G. James’s grandson Michael James was an invaluable help; get- ting to know him was the best part of this project. Other James family members, including Henry James IV, Robertson James, Sara James-Ri- leau, and John Hunter Gray, generously shared their knowledge of fam- ily history. Roberta Sheehan kindly allowed me access to the Alice Howe Gibbens Collection of the late William James III of Santa Fe, documents that made the book possible. Alfred Habegger encouraged me to pursue this project and helped me plan the book’s organization, suggesting a chronological organization. He proffered excellent advice on writing biography based on his work on Henry James Sr. and Emily Dickinson. Conversations with Eugene Taylor, Randall Albright, and Roberta Sheehan gave me direction for my study of William James’s work. Sheldon Novick generously shared ix Buy the Book