Housman, Laurence
Entry updated 26 June 2023. Tagged: Author, Theatre.
(1865-1959) UK playwright and author, brother of Clemence Housman, whose The Were-Wolf (1896) he illustrated [for differently focused entries on both Housman and his sister, see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below], and of the poet A E Housman (1859-1936). During his life Housman was best known for his plays and for several volumes of fantasy and sf stories, including Gods and Their Makers (1897; with stories added, vt as coll, Gods and Their Makers and Other Stories 1920), The Blue Moon (coll 1904), The Cloak of Friendship (coll 1905), What-o'Clock Tales (coll 1932), What Next?: Provocative Tales of Faith and Morals (coll 1938), Strange Ends and Discoveries: Tales of This World and the Next (coll 1948) and The Kind and the Foolish: Short Tales of Myth, Magic and Miracle (coll 1952). Some of his work for children, such as his first book, A Farm in Fairyland (coll 1894) and Turn Again Tales (coll 1931), and some of his plays, such as Possession: A Peep-Show in Paradise (1921), are also of fantasy interest.
Of more direct sf interest are the two Ruritanian John of Jingalo tales, John of Jingalo: The Story of a Monarch in Difficulties (1912; vt King John of Jingalo 1912) and The Royal Runaway and Jingalo in Revolution: (A Sequel to John of Jingalo) (1914); in both novels there is a running commentary on Utopian social solutions, particularly with regard to women's rights (see Women in SF). Housman was actively involved in early twentieth-century Feminist campaigns, including women's suffrage. [JC]
Laurence Housman
born Bromsgrove, Worcestershire: 18 July 1865
died Glastonbury, Somerset: 20 February 1959
works (highly selected)
series
John of Jingalo
- John of Jingalo: The Story of a Monarch in Difficulties (London: Chapman and Hall, 1912) [John of Jingalo: hb/]
- King John of Jingalo (New York: Henry Holt, 1912) [vt of the above: John of Jingalo: hb/]
- The Royal Runaway and Jingalo in Revolution: (A Sequel to John of Jingalo) (London: Chapman & Hall, 1914) [John of Jingalo: hb/]
individual titles
- Gods and Their Makers (London: John Lane: The Bodley Head, 1897) [hb/]
- Gods and Their Makers and Other Stories (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1920) [coll: rev vt with stories added to the above novel: hb/]
- Possession: A Peep-Show in Paradise (London: Jonathan Cape, 1921) [play: chap: hb/nonpictorial]
collections and stories
- A Farm in Fairyland (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner and Co, 1894) [coll: hb/Laurence Housman]
- The Blue Moon (London: John Murray, 1904) [coll: illus/hb/Clemence Housman]
- The Cloak of Friendship (London: John Murray, 1905) [coll: hb/]
- Odd Pairs: A Book of Tales (London: Jonathan Cape, 1925) [coll: hb/nonpictorial]
- Ironical Tales (London: Jonathan Cape, 1926) [coll: hb/]
- Turn Again Tales (Oxford, Oxfordshire: Basil Blackwell, 1931) [coll: hb/]
- What-o'Clock Tales (Oxford, Oxfordshire: Basil Blackwell, 1932) [coll: illus/hb/J R Monsell]
- What Next?: Provocative Tales of Faith and Morals (London: Jonathan Cape, 1938) [coll: hb/Philip Gough]
- Strange Ends and Discoveries: Tales of This World and the Next (London: Jonathan Cape, 1948) [coll: hb/nonpictorial]
- The Kind and the Foolish: Short Tales of Myth, Magic and Miracle (London: Jonathan Cape, 1952) [coll: hb/nonpictorial]
links
- Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- The Encyclopedia of Fantasy: Clemence Housman; Laurence Housman.
- Picture Gallery
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