Readers of [House of Wits] by [[Paul Fisher]] should remember that this is, as the subtitle says,"an intimate portrait of the James family." So don't look for everything you always wanted to know about each of its most famous members: novelist Henry, philosopher/psychologist William, or feminist Alice. But the interactions between these individuals and others make for fascinating reading.

Short-changed of necessity in this 600+ page volume are brothers Wilkie and Bob who were so unfortunate as to be born average into a family of geniuses and suffered on that account. Bob became an alcoholic like his father. Wilkie was badly wounded in the Civil War. Both brothers failed in business and in marriage.

The eccentric father, Henry Sr., had a streak of brilliance that he narrowly focused on a study of the equally eccentric Swedish scientist/philosopher/inventor/religious writer Emanual Swedenborg. Mary Walsh James, the mother, was passive yet strong as a domestic manager under the trying conditions imposed by her always-on-the-move husband. Between them, the pair exercised control over their brood even as they entered adulthood.

Especially interesting to me is Fisher's examination of Henry, Jr.s failure as a playwrite. He might write splendid novels, but he was once booed off an English stage after his friends in the front rows of an play opening got through applauding. In common with some other biographers, Fisher believes that Henry James was a repressed homosexual and points to what little evidence is available in his letters and fictional writings.

The two brothers were close, yet competitive, and not necessarily admirers of each other's work. In one exchange William wrote Henry after receiving one of Henry's new books: "I wish sometimes you would sit down and write a new book, with no twilight or mistiness in the plot . . . and absolute straightforwardness in style." In response, Henry wrote William: "I am always sorry when I hear of your reading anything of mine, and always hope you won't -- you seem to me so constitutionally unable to enjoy it."

The sickly and reclusive Alice James did not emerge as a feminist icon until sections of her thoughtful diary were published after her death. The author makes a convincing case that Alice had a lesbian relationship with her friend, Katharine Loring.

The flaws in this book are few. Given the wide scope of research, information of interest to some readers had to be left out. Three omissions would have made the book more interesting to me. Fisher gives very casual treatment to William's contribution to the development of the philosophy of pragmatism. Not even a proper definition of this landmark in philosophical thinking is given. The many physical and mental symptoms of Alice's illnesses were recorded by her and others. Why didn't Fisher ask a modern physician to suggest a possible diagnosis? Finally, when Henry met Mark Twain and sat with him in summer chairs at a New Jersey resort, surely there is a better record of their conversation than Henry's remark that "There was gold dust in the air." But these are niggling criticisms.

This a a fine book -- scholarly, yet engaging in style. The context in which the family lived and worked in this country and Europe is brought to life. One feels there with the family in New York in the late 1800's, with Henry in England and Italy, and with William in Germany. This is social history at its best. The 68 pages of notes display the depth of Fisher's research. Last, but not least, this book has a fine index -- something lacking in too many biographies.

I highly recommend this book to fans of any of the famous Jamees and to avid readers of biography. ( )