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.[ Open Library page for Clemence Housman] She was also a leading figure in the suffragette movement.
Life
Clemence was born in
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.
She went to the South London School of Technical Art in 1883 where she learned, among other things,
wood-engraving.
She worked for a time as an engraver for illustrated papers such as
The Graphic.
In 1908 she subscribed to the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), and in 1909 she was a co-founder, with her brother Laurence Housman, of the Suffrage Atelier.
In 1910 Houseman became a member of the committee of the Women's Tax Resistance League.
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.[A. T. Lloyd, J. E. S. Brooks, (1996), The History of New Milton and its Surrounding Area, Centenary Edition, page 66]
Works
published three novels, and she illustrated some of the fantasies written by her brother Laurence.
[Stableford, Brian (2009), The A to Z of Fantasy Literature, p. 205. Scarecrow Press. ] Each of Housman's novels is a "Christian fantasy", dramatising religious themes.
[Douglas A. Anderson, Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy. Del Rey Books, New York, (pp. 213, 431)] Her first novel,
The Were-wolf (1896), was an allegorical erotic fantasy featuring a
werewoman.
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."
described
The Were-wolf as "a minor classic in the genre".
[Copper, Basil. (1977) The Werewolf: In Legend, Fact and Art. New York, St. Martin's Press. pp. 179-80. ] The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis is an
King Arthur fantasy.
praised
The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis, calling the novel "the finest work on an Arthurian theme since Mallory".
[Katz, Linda Sternberg, and Katz, Writer's Choice : a Library of Rediscoveries. Reston Pub. Co., Reston, Virginia, 1983 (pg.58).] Douglas A. Anderson has described
The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis as Housman's "supreme achievement".
"The Drawn Arrow" (1923) is a short
fable set in a desert kingdom.
Novels
-
– illustrated by Laurence Housman.
As illustrator
-
Laurence Housman, The Blue Moon (1904) – illustrations by L.H., engraved by C.H.
Further reading
-
Elizabeth Oakley, (2009), Inseparable Siblings: A Portrait of Clemence and Laurence Housman. Brewin Books.
External links
