Jean Strouse's Alice James: A Biography (1980) was awarded the Bancroft Prize in American History and Diplomacy in 1981. The book presents Alice James as worthy of a biography of her own, rather than as a footnote to the lives of her well-known brothers William and Henry.

Born on 10 September 1945, Jean Strouse, daughter of Carl David Strouse, a physician, and Louise Friedberg Strouse, grew up in Los Angeles, attended Verde Valley School in Sedona, Arizona, and graduated with honors from Radcliffe College in 1967. Pursuing a career in journalism, she was an editorial assistant for the New York Review of Books (1967-1969) and an associate editor at Pantheon Books (1972-1975). From 1979 to 1983, Strouse was a book critic and general editor at Newsweek. Her articles and reviews have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Ms. magazine, and Commonweal, among others. Alice James was supported by fellowships from the Radcliffe...