Clemence Housman

Clemence Annie Housman (23 November 1861 – 6 December 1955) was an author, illustrator and activist in the women's suffrage movement. She was the sister of A. E. Housman and Laurence Housman. Her novels included The Were-Wolf, Unknown Sea and The Life of Sir Aglovale De Galis.[1] She was also a leading figure in the suffragette movement.[2]

Clemence Housman in about 1910

Life
The Were-Wolf by Housman (artwork by Laurence Housman, LH)

Clemence was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.[3] She went to the South London School of Technical Art in 1883 where she learned, among other things, wood-engraving.[4] She worked for a time as an engraver for illustrated papers such as The Graphic.[4] In 1908 she subscribed to the Women's Social and Political Union, and in 1909 she was a co-founder, with her brother Laurence Housman, of the Suffrage Atelier.[4] She made banners for the suffrage movement between 1908 and 1914.[4]

In 1910 she became a member of the committee of the Women's Tax Resistance League.[4] She was arrested on 30 September 1911 for non-payment of taxes and she was sent to Holloway Prison, but she was released after just one week following protests and demonstrations by her supporters.[4]

She lived with her brother Laurence for much of her life. After World War I, they lived in a cottage in the village of Ashley in Hampshire, and then, in 1924, moved to Street, Somerset.[5][6] She died in December 1955 aged 94.

Works

Clemence published three novels, and she illustrated some of the fantasies written by her brother Laurence.[7] Each of Housman's novels is a "Christian fantasy", dramatising religious themes.[8] Her first novel, The Were-wolf (1896), was an allegorical erotic fantasy featuring a female werewolf.[7] H. P. Lovecraft said of the Were-Wolf that it "attains a high degree of gruesome tension and achieves to some extent the atmosphere of authentic folklore."[9] Basil Copper described The Were-wolf as "a minor classic in the genre".[10] The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis is an Arthurian fantasy.[7] Douglas A. Anderson has described The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis as Housman's "supreme achievement".[8] "The Drawn Arrow" (1923) is a short fable set in a desert kingdom.[8]

Novels
  • Clemence Housman (1896), The Were-wolf, London: J. Lane at the Bodley Head, OL 13492113M – illustrated by Laurence Housman.
  • Clemence Housman (1898), Unknown Sea, London: Duckworth, OL 7217479M
  • Clemence Housman (1905), The Life of Sir Aglovale De Galis (The life of Sir Aglovale de Galis ed.), London: Methuen, OL 7233562M

As illustrator
  • Laurence Housman, The Blue Moon (1904) – illustrations by L.H., engraved by C.H.
  • Laurence Housman (1922), Moonshine & Clover, Illustrated by Clemence Housman, New York: Harcourt, Brace, OCLC 6553308, OL 7073215M

References
  1. Open Library page for Clemence Housman
  2. Sandra Stanley Holton (1996), Suffrage days, London: Routledge, ISBN 0-415-10941-8, OL 805990M, 0415109418
  3. Elizabeth Crawford, 'Housman, Clemence Annie (1861–1955)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 7 Feb 2011
  4. Elizabeth Crawford (2002) The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866–1928, page 424. Routledge. ISBN 0203031091
  5. A. T. Lloyd, J. E. S. Brooks, (1996), The History of New Milton and its Surrounding Area, Centenary Edition, page 66
  6. "Catalogue of Laurence Housman's works". Street Society. Archived from the original (Word) on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  7. Brian Stableford, (2009), The A to Z of Fantasy Literature, page 205. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810868296
  8. Douglas A. Anderson, Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy. Del Rey Books, New York, ISBN 978-0-345-45855-1 (pp. 213, 431)
  9. Supernatural Horror in Literature; The Weird Tradition in the British Isles, HP Lovecraft
  10. Basil Copper, The Werewolf : In Legend, Fact and Art. New York, St. Martin's Press 1977. (pp. 179-80) ISBN 978-0-709-16193-6

Further reading
  • Elizabeth Oakley, (2009), Inseparable Siblings: A Portrait of Clemence and Laurence Housman. Brewin Books. ISBN 185858440X
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