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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, c. 1910

Life

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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] Here, she made banners for the suffrage movement between 1908 and 1914,[4] with her brother describing how she "wore herself out" sitting on the floor and doing needlework for the cause.[5] She also created designs for publications of the WSPU's Women's Press, ran print making workshops for fellow suffrage campaigners to print literature and organised exhibitions.[6]

In 1910 Houseman became a member of the committee of the Women's Tax Resistance League.[4] She also boycotted the 1911 census, writing "No Vote No Census Clemence Housman" across her form.[7] She was arrested on 30 September 1911 for non-payment of her taxes.[2] 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.[8][9] She died in December 1955 aged 94.

Works

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Clemence published three novels, and she illustrated some of the fantasies written by her brother Laurence.[10] Each of Housman's novels is a "Christian fantasy", dramatising religious themes.[11] Her first novel, The Were-wolf (1896), was an allegorical erotic fantasy featuring a female werewolf.[10] 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."[12] Basil Copper described The Were-wolf as "a minor classic in the genre".[13] The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis is an Arthurian fantasy.[10] Douglas A. Anderson has described The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis as Housman's "supreme achievement".[11] "The Drawn Arrow" (1923) is a short fable set in a desert kingdom.[11]

Novels

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  • 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

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  • 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

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  1. ^ Open Library page for Clemence Housman
  2. ^ a b Holton, Sandra (2002). Suffrage Days: Stories from the Women's Suffrage Movement. Routledge. p. 174. ISBN 978-1-134-83787-8.
  3. ^ Crawford, Elizabeth (23 September 2004). "Housman, Clemence Annie (1861–1955), illustrator and suffragette". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Crawford, Elizabeth (2001). The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide, 1866-1928. Psychology Press. p. 424. ISBN 978-0-415-23926-4.
  5. ^ Beebe, Kathryne; Davis, Angela; Gleadle, Kathryn (2 October 2017). Space, Place and Gendered Identities: Feminist History and the Spatial Turn. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-56956-5.
  6. ^ Røstvik, Camilla Mørk; Sutherland, Louise (19 October 2015). Suffragette Legacy: How does the History of Feminism Inspire Current Thinking in Manchester. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-4438-8500-3.
  7. ^ Liddington, Jill (1 January 2014). Vanishing for the vote: Suffrage, citizenship and the battle for the census. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-1-84779-888-6.
  8. ^ A. T. Lloyd, J. E. S. Brooks, (1996), The History of New Milton and its Surrounding Area, Centenary Edition, page 66
  9. ^ "Catalogue of Laurence Housman's works". Street Society. Archived from the original (Word) on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  10. ^ a b c Stableford, Brian (2009), The A to Z of Fantasy Literature, p. 205. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810868296
  11. ^ a b c 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)
  12. ^ Supernatural Horror in Literature; The Weird Tradition in the British Isles, HP Lovecraft
  13. ^ Copper, Basil. (1977) The Werewolf: In Legend, Fact and Art. New York, St. Martin's Press. pp. 179-80. ISBN 978-0-709-16193-6

Further reading

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