Catalogue of
Laurence Housman's Works
Held in Street Library, Somerset
Note: The Street Society includes this as a public service. The printed
catalogue has been scanned, but not yet corrected, so there will be mistakes
for the moment.
WORKS OF LAURENCE HOUSMAN IN THE STREET LIBRARY
COLLECTION
* A.E.H. : some poems, some letters and a personal memoir by his brother
Laurence Housman. Cape. 1937. 216 p.
* All-fellows : seven legends of lower redemption ; with insets in verse. Kegan
Paul. 1896. ix., 138 p. illus.
* All-fellows and The Cloak of friendship. Cape. 1923. 192 p. illus. Angels and
ministers, see Victorian plays.
** Articles of faith in the freedom of women. 2nd ed. Fifield. 1911. ("Heretical
Booklets" series).
Back words and forewords : an author's year-book, 1893-1943 selection in
chronological order from the plays, poems, and prose writings . . . Cape.
1945. 264 p.
** Bethlehem : a Nativity play. Macmillan. 1902. 44 p.
Bethlehem : a Nativity play ; The Pageant of Our Lady and other poems.
Macmillan. 1902. 85 p.
** Blind love. Boston, Mass. 1901. 30 p.
* The Blue moon. Murray. 1904. viii, 210 p. illus.
** Christianity a danger to the State. No-Conscription Fellowship, n.d.
(c.191i5). 8 p. . . . . another copy.
The Cloak of friendship. Murray. 1905. 192 p.
The Collected poems. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1937. xvi, 368 p. front, (portrait).
The Comments of Juniper, see Little plays of St. Francis.
** Cornered poets : a book of dramatic dialogues. Cape. 1929. 255 p.
** Cynthia (a true love tale : poem). Sidgwick & Jackson. 1947- 4° P-
* Dethronements : imaginary portraits of political characters, done in dialogue.
Cape. 1922. 95 p.
Echo de Paris : a study from life. (Recollections of a dialogue between the
author, Oscar Wilde and others). Cape. 1923. 60 p.
* An Englishwoman's love-letters. Murray, 1901. 322 p.
False premises : five one act plays. Oxford, Blackwell. 1922. 96 p. (" The
British Drama League Library of Modern British Drama ", No. 1.)
* The Family honour : a comedy in four acts and an epilogue. Cape. 1950.
128 p.
The Field of clover. Kegan Paul. 1898. 148 p. illus. Followers of St. Francis,
see Little plays of St. Francis.
Four plays of St. Clare, see Little plays of St. Francis.
* Gods and their makers, and other stories. Allen & Unwin. 1897, reissued
1920. 222 p.
The Golden Sovereign, see Victorian plays. Gracious Majesty, see Victorian
plays.
** Great possessions. Church of St. Ethelburga, within Bishopsgate. 1915. 23
p.
. . . . . another copy.
Green arras, (poems). John Lane. 1896. viii, 90 p. illus.
Happy and glorious, see Victorian plays.
* The Heart of Peace, and other poems. Heinemann. 1918. vi, 140 p.
* Hop-o'-me-heart : a grown-up fairy tale, (in verse). Flansham, Pear Tree
Press, n.d. (1938). 16 p.
* ..... another copy.
* The House of joy. Kegan Paul. 1895. 181 p. illus.
The Immoral effects of ignorance in sex relations : a lecture . . . Women's
Freedom League. 1911. 42 p.
** Ironical tales. Cape. 1926. 224 p.
* The Kind and the foolish : short tales of myth, magic and miracle. Cape.
1952. 239 p.
* King John of Jingalo : the story of a monarch in difficulties. New ed. Cape.
1937. 416 p.
. . . . . another copy.
The Life of H.R.H. the Duke of Flamborough. Cape. 1928. 287 p.
The Little Land ; with songs from its four rivers. (Poems). Grant Richards.
1899. viii, 97 p. illus. Little plays of St. Francis. (In order of publication).
In The Venturer : a journal of freedom and fellowship. Brother Sin. 6 p. (Vol. i.
New series. No.i. Oct. 1919), Brother Juniper. 8 p. (Vol I. New series. No. 5.
Feb. 1920).
Brother Elias. 8 p. (Vol. I. New series. No. 8. May 1920).
Little plays of St. Francis. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1922. xxii, 288 p.
Followers of St. Francis : four plays of the early Franciscan legend. Sidgwick
& Jackson. 1923. xiv, 60 p.
The Comments of Juniper : six plays from the life and legend of St. Francis of
Assisi. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1926. x, 100 p.
The 'Little plays' handbook : practical notes for producers of ' Little plays of St.
Francis ', ' Followers of St. Francis' and ' The Comments of Juniper '. Sidgwick
& Jackson. 1927. xxiv. 114 p.
Little plays of St. Francis : second series. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1931. xxiv, 288
p.
* Nunc dimittis : an epilogue to ' Little plays of St. Francis'. Dramatic Society of
University College, London. 1933. 14 p.
* » Four plays of St. Clare. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1934. viii, 63 p.
* (Single copies of :)
Naked truth, A.D. 1207. 16 p. Blind heart, A.D. 1210. 14 p. Bond of fellowship,
A.D. 1220.14 p. Sidgwick & Jackson. (1935).
** Little plays of St. Francis. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1935- 3 vols. illus.
* The Lord of the harvest : a morality in one act. French. 1916. 13 p.
* The Love concealed. (Poems). Sidgwick & Jackson. 1928. xii, 116 p.
Mendicant rhymes. 1906. 56 p. (Printed at the Essex House Press, Chipping
Campden, Gloucestershire).
A Modern Antaeus, by the writer of 'An Englishwoman's love-letters'. Murray.
1901. viii, 519 p.
Modern religious belief: an address at Leighton Paris School,, on the 16th of
June, 1925, 15 p.
** National art training : being an address delivered at the Municipal School of
Art, Manchester . . . Monday, September 18, 1911.
* The New child's guide to knowledge : a book of poems and moral lessons
for old and young ; with elegant engravings . . . Sidgwick & Jackson. 1911. 84
p.
* The New Hangman : a play in one act. Putnam. 1930.23 p.
Nunc dimittis. see Little plays of St. Francis.
Odd pairs : a book of tales. Cape. 1925. 160 p
Old Testament plays. Cape. 1950. 280 p.
Pains and penalties : the defence of Queen Caroline : a play in four acts.
Sidgwick & Jackson. 1911. viii, 89 p.
Palace plays, see Victorian plays. Palace scenes, see Victorian plays.
Palestine plays. Cape. 1942. 146 p.
Ploughshare and pruning hook : ten lectures on social subjects. Swarthmore
Press. 1919. xvi, 244 p.
Possession, see Victorian plays.
The Preparation of peace. Cape. 1940. 252 p.
The Queen's progress, see Victorian plays.
The Religious advance toward rationalism. Conway Memorial Lecture,
September 25th, 1929. Watts. 52 p.
The Royal runaway and Jingalo in revolution : (a sequel to 'John of Jingalo').
Chapman & Hall. 1914. vi, 389 p.
Rue. (Poems). At the Sign of the Unicorn. 1899. x, 96 p.
Sabrina Warham : the story of her youth. Murray. 1904. xii. 439 p.
St. Francis Poverello. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1918. xxii, 159 p. ("Messages of
the Saints" series).
Samuel, the King-maker : a play in four acts. Cape. 1944. 106 p.
Selected poems. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1908, reprinted 1921. x, 126 p.
The Seven Young Goslings. Blackie. (1908). 40 p.
Sex-war and woman's suffrage: a lecture . . .Women's Freedom League.
1912. 58 p.
The Sheepfold : the story of a shepherdess and her sheep and how she lost
them. Duckworth. 1918. vi, 344 p.
The Six O'clock Call, see Victorian plays.
Strange ends and discoveries : tales of this world and the next. Cape. 1948.
189 p.
Trimblerigg : a book of revelation. Cape. 1924. 320 p.
. . . . . another edition. New York, A. & C. Boni. 1925. 320 p.
Uncle Tom Pudd : a biographical romance. Cape. 1927. 224 p.
The Unexpected years. Cape. 1937. 392 p. front, (portrait) Victorian plays. (In
order of publication).
Angels and Ministers : three plays of Victorian shade and character. Cape.
1921. 86 p.
Possession : a peep-show in Paradise. Cape. 1921. 61 p.
. . . . . another copy. Palace plays. Cape. 1930. 126 p.
The Queen's progress : Palace plays, (second series). Cape. 1932. 160 p.
Victoria and Albert : Palace plays, (third series). Cape. 1933. I9° PVictoria Regina : a dramatic biography. Cape. 1934. 470 p. (Excepting one
play, this is a collection of Victorian plays from earlier volumes).
another copy.
Victoria Regina. (Programme of the production at the Lyric Theatre,
Shaftesbury Avenue. Pamela Stanley as Victoria, Carl Esmond as Albert).
Palace Scenes : more plays of Queen Victoria. Cape. 1937. 190 p.
The Golden Sovereign. Cape. 1937. 440 p. (This is a collection of Victorian
plays from earlier volumes, notably ' Palace scenes ').
The Six o'clock call : acting version. Cape. 1938. 18 p. (First published as part
of 'The Revolting daughter', in 'Palace plays', 1930 ; published in 'Victoria
Regina', 1934).
Gracious Majesty. Cape. 1941. 222 p.
Happy and glorious : a dramatic biography. Reprint Society. 1943. 4^o p.
Ways and means : five one act plays of village characters. Deane. 76 p. n.d.
What is "womanly"? Women's Freedom League. (1914). 45 PWhat next? : provocative tales of faith and morals. Cape. I938- 336 PWhat O'Clock Tales. Oxford, Blackwell. 1932. viii, 225 p.
What price salvation now? Peace News. 1949. 13 p.
The Wheel. (A trilogy). Sidgwick & Jackson. 1919. 77 p.
* Ye fearful saints! : plays of creed, custom, and credulity. Sidgwick &
Jackson, viii, 158 p.
WORKS OF LAURENCE HOUSMAN IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHERS
(With Harley Granville Barker).
Prunella : or, Love in a Dutch Garden : (a play). 3rd ed. Sidgwick & Jackson.
1911. 89 p. (Contains a programme of a commemorative performance given
by Street Players in the gardens of Hindhayes School, 27th June, 1959).
*(With Clarence Henry Kennett Marten).
Histories. Book I: Through the ages. Oxford, Blackwell. 1931. viii, 128 p.
(With Somerset Maugham).
The Venture : an annual of art and literature, edited by Laurence Housman
and W. Somerset Maugham. John Baillie. 1903. 249 p. (Laurence Housman
also contributed an article and an illustration to this volume).
10 (With Hugh R. L. Sheppard, Dean of Canterbury).
What can we believe? Letters exchanged between Dick Sheppard and L.H.,
edited by Laurence Housman. Cape. 1939. 255 p.
OTHER WORKS TRANSLATED, EDITED OR CONTRIBUTED TO BY
LAURENCE HOUSMAN
Arabian Nights. Ali Baba, and other stories from the Arabian Nights : retold by
Laurence Housman. Hodder & Stoughton. 1911.
Stories from The Arabian Nights, retold by Laurence Housman, with drawings
by Edmund Dulac. Hodder & Stoughton for Boots Pure Drug Co. Ltd. nd 319 p
** Aristophanes. Lysistrata : a modern paraphrase from the Greek of
Aristophanes. The Woman's Press. 1911. 77 p.
* Aucassin and Nicolette. Of Aucassin and Nicolette : a translation in prose
and verse ; together with Amabel and Amoris. Chatto & Windus. 1925. 106 p.
illus.
Barlow, Jane. The End of Elfintown: illustrated by Laurence Housman.
Macmillan. 1894. 78 p.
Housman, Clemence. The Were-wolf: with six illustrations by Laurence
Housman. John Lane. 1896. 124 p.
** Joy Street : a medley of prose and verse for boys and girls. Vols. 2-14,
Oxford, Blackwell. 1924-1936. (All except vol. 5 of this sequence contain
stories or poems by Laurence Housman).
Meredith, George. Jump to Glory Jane : ed. and arranged by Harry Quilter,
with forty-four designs invented, drawn, and written by Lawrence ( sic)
Housman. Swan, Sonnenschein. 1892. 28,36 p.
** Omar Khayyam. Rubaiyat : rendered into English verse by Edward
Fitzgerald, ed. by George F. Maine. Rev. ed. Collins. 1954. (Introduction by
Laurence Housman, P-7-I3)Plato. The Death of Socrates : a dramatic scene, founded upon two of Plato's
Dialogues, the 'Crito' and the 'Phaedo' ; adapted for the stage by Laurence
Housman. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1925. viii, 54 p.
Rossetti, Christina. Goblin Market: illustrated by Laurence Housman. Large
paper ed. 1893. 64 p. Royal Society of Literature.
Transactions, Vol. XII, 1933. "Pre-Raphaelitism in art and poetry" (read
November I3th, 1929), by Laurence Housman. 29 p.
Transactions, Vol. XXI, 1944. "Fame versus fashion in literature" (Giff
Edmunds Memorial Lecture, read June yth, 1943).
Shelley, Percy Bysshe. The Sensitive plant, illustrated by Laurence Housman.
Aldine House. 1898. 60 p.
Thomas a Kempis. Of the imitation of Christ. Kegan Paul. 1898. xii, 324 p.
(The illustrations and title-page designed by Laurence Housman and
engraved by Clemence Housman).
The Universal Review. (Volume containing articles from 'The Universal
Review'): 'Blake as an impressionist' ; 'The Green Gaffer' ; 'The Singers of the
nineteenth century' (poem by George Barlow, illustrated by Laurence
Housman) ; 'The Wisdom of the Indians' (by R. Garnett, illustrated by
Laurence Housman).
Wordsworth, William. A Wordsworth anthology : selected with an introduction
by Laurence Housman. New York, Scribner. 1946. vi, 151 p.
Title page of the edition of Shelley's "The Sensitive plant", illustrated by
Laurence Housman, 1898. Housman considered the illustrations for this
volume " the best drawings I ever did ". Reproduced by kind permission of J.
M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
THE DRAWINGS OF LAURENCE HOUSMAN
Nearly all the drawings in the Collection have been given by Giles and
Eleanor Robertson, (son-in-law and daughter of Roger and Sarah Bancroft
Clark). On 12th September, 1955, Laurence Housman gave to Mr. Giles
Robertson a number of drawings, together with some notes relating to the
drawings. These notes are given below. Some additional information had
been added by Mr. Robertson, and this appears in brackets, followed by the
initials G.R. Other information in brackets is part of Laurence Housman's
original list.
Notes on appended sketches and caricatures.
(1) St. Francis and Brother Wolf.
(2) Gleeson White said in an article on my work for "The Art Magazine" that I
was under the divided influence of Rossetti and William Morris on the one
hand, and Ricketts and A. B. Houghton on the other. (The drawing shows L.H.
with Rossetti pulling his right arm and Morris his left, Ricketts his right leg and
Houghton his left. G.R.)
(3) Mrs. Gerald Bishop who played the part of the Virgin Mary in Craig's
production of "Bethlehem". (Two drawings. G.R.)
(4) Caricature of Max Beerbohm. (Three drawings and one reproduction—of a
different drawing. L.H. told me that a paper—he did not remember which—
asked him if he would give Max a sitting for a caricature and that he agreed on
condition that they also published a caricature of him by Max. The
reproduction is a cutting from this paper, but does not reveal what the paper
was. G.R.)
(5) Max Beerbohm's caricature of L.H. (Reproduction.) This is the caricature
by Max mentioned in the previous note, and is also a cutting from the same
paper. It is inscribed " The Englishwoman ?", which seems to date it to the
time of the revelation of L.H.'s authorship of "An Englishwoman's Love
Letters". On the backs of the two cuttings are portions of a larger picture of the
Duchess of Wellington's Party at Apsley House. G.R.)
(6) (There is no number 6 on the list, nor was there ever a drawing with this
number in the series. G.R.)
(7) H. G. Wells. Attitude while playing tennis ?
(8) Archer (Translator of Ibsen).
(9) My Landlord at Pembroke Cottage. W. (from life).
(10) Cranmer Byng and his brother, (first to publish C.A.H.'s story " The
Drawn Arrow ").
(11) Cyril Scott, composer & founder of Madrigal Soc.
(12) Father George Tyrell. S.J.
(13) Robert Farquarson, (acted male Angel in " Bethlehem ", alias ' De la
Condamine').
(14) Martin Harvey (actor of " The Only Way ").
(15) Portrait of the Duke of Flamborough. (Inscribed' H.R.H. Augustus William
Third Duke of Flamborough, at the age of 48.' G.R.)
(16) Study of blown raiment by L.H. (Black and white chalk on grey paper.
G.R.) (Also in the group, but not listed by L.H.:—Two drawings of Gordon
Craig. Four designs for book decoration, one of them for title-page or cover of
" The Glorious Liberty of the Children of God." G.R.)
Given by Mrs. Eleanor Robertson is a pastel drawing, (11" x 14", in a frame
18" x 22"). Labels on the back of the drawing are inscribed, in Laurence
Housman's hand: "For Eleanor, from her obedient Uncle Laurence".
"This drawing was done in the back garden of my old home, Perry Hall,
Bromsgrove, in my I9th year — a year after I had left home to study art in
London. It was my first and last completed drawing in pastels that I can
remember making, before I decided to stick to black-and-white.
"If this is a fair example of what I could do as a first attempt, I wish I had gone
on with it. It is so much more modern in style than my other work ; and I might
have secured a larger public, and become more popular, had I gone on with it.
Your affectionate Laurence Housman. "
There is also a small pastel portrait of Clemence Housman, by Adrian
Graham, (yf" x gj") It is in an envelope marked in Laurence Housman's hand :
"Clem's portrait by Adrian Graham, for Sarah and Roger."
WORKS OF CLEMENCE HOUSMAN
His elder sister, Clemence, born in 1861, was the person probably closest to
Laurence Housman. They shared a home for the greater part of their lives ;
and when "Longmeadow" (their house in Street) was built, both brother and
sister were active in the preparation of the designs.
Clemence Housman was an accomplished artist and writer. She and
Laurence studied art together in London, and Clemence trained especially as
a wood engraver, being responsible for preparing most of the blocks used in
the illustration of Laurence Housman's works.
It is well-known that Laurence Housman greatly admired the writings of his
brother, A. E. Housman, and considered his own work poor by comparison.
He had also a very high opinion of the work of his sister, Clemence. She
published three books, copies of which are included in the Street Library
Collection:
The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis. Methuen. 1905. 308 p.
..... another edition. Cape. 1954. 272 p. (Clemence Housman added a chapter
to this edition when she was nearly 94).
31 stories by thirty and one authors : edited by Ernest Rhys and C. A. Dawson
Scott. New York, D. Appleton and Co. 1923. 413 p. (Includes a short story by
Clemence Housman, 'The Drawn arrow')
The Unknown sea. Duckworth. 1898. 314 p.
The Were-wolf: with six illustrations by Laurence Housman. John Lane. 1896.
124 p.
A NOTE ON THE MANUSCRIPT AND MISCELLANEOUS MATERIAL IN
THE COLLECTION
The manuscript material comprises a series of more than 200 letters, mostly
from Laurence Housman to Roger and/or Sarah Clark. 22 of the letters are
from Clemence Housman. The Housman letters range in date from 1908 to
1959, and are written from a variety of addresses, including New York and
Chicago. The majority have been bound in folders by the Somerset County
Record Office, but a few have been left inside books, as they were found
when the collection came to Street Library. Books containing such material
are marked with a double asterisk in the catalogue.
Also in the collection are a number of autograph letters and poems in the
hands of: Max Beerbohm, Laurence Binyon, G. K. Chesterton, John
Masefield, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, Bernard Shaw, E. H. Shepard, Sir
Charles Trevelyan, Oscar Wilde, and A. E. Housman.
Tape recordings of a radio programme about Laurence Housman, ("The Last
of the Victorians", first broadcast in November, 1965), are included. This
programme was prepared by Mr. David Foot, and in it can be heard the voices
of Mrs. Roger Clark, Mrs. Eleanor Robertson, Mr. H. F. Scott Stokes, and
others.
Other items include a scrap-book containing production photographs of
"Victoria Regina" ; and an envelope of obituary notices on Laurence
Housman. There are several volumes of the work of A. E. Housman.