Laurence Housman
Laurence Housman |
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Outline Biography
Birth and Childhood
Housman was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, into a talented family which included his brother, the writer A.E. Housman, and his sister Clemence, a wood engraver and active suffragette as well as an author. London
Both Laurence and Clemence studied wood engraving at the City and Guilds of London Art School. From 1883 Housman studied at the Lambeth School of Art, which was established in Kennington by the City & Guilds of London Institute in 1879 as an extension of the Lambeth School of Art. Originally it provided training, mainly in carving, modelling and architectural decoration, for those engaged in the art industries of the locality. Laurence then studied at South Kensington. Before failing eyesight forced him to give up illustration in 1901, he had created numerous designs for such tales as Christian Rossetti's Goblin Market (1893), Jan Barlow's The End of Elfintoun (1894), Shelley's The Sensitive Plant (1898) and two of George MacDonald's books, At the Back of the North Wind and The Princess and the Goblin (both 1900). He also illustrated several of his own stories, including A Farm in Fairyland (1984) and The House of Joy (1985). (See a talk on the graphic work here.) Clemence did much of the actual engraving of her brother's drawings onto woodblocks. Housman served as art critic for The Manchester Guardian from 1889 until 1911.
Street
Laurence and Clemence moved to Street in 1924. Writing took up the major part of his time after 1901, and he eventually gained a reputation as a playwright, Victoria Regina being his best-known play. It had over 500 performances on Broadway between Boxing Day 1935 and June 1937, and was revived in 1938. Along with his sister he became a Socialist and ardent pacifist. They attended the Street Friends' Meeting House and he became a member late in life. He died in Glastonbury in 1959 at the age of ninety-four.
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