Laurence Housman

Laurence Housman – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Laurence Housman (1865–1959), English playwright, illustrator, and activist, carved a distinctive path through art, theatre, suffrage, and humanism. In this detailed biography, explore the life and legacy of a talented polymath whose plays, activism, and writings continue to inspire.

Introduction

Who was Laurence Housman? Born on July 18, 1865, and passing away on February 20, 1959, Housman was a remarkably versatile English artist, playwright, writer, and social reformer. He belonged to a celebrated literary family—his brother was the poet A. E. Housman—and he made his mark in multiple fields over a career spanning from the 1890s into the 1950s.

While today he is less known than some of his contemporaries, his contributions to theatre, suffrage, pacifism, literature, and humanism remain significant. His life is a vivid example of how creativity, conviction, and activism can intertwine—and how the arts can advance social causes.

Early Life and Family

Laurence Housman was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, to Edward Housman, a solicitor, and Sarah Jane Williams.Alfred Edward Housman, later a renowned poet, and Clemence Housman, who became a writer, illustrator, and activist.

Tragedy struck early: Laurence was about five when his mother died (in 1871).

Despite challenges, the children were encouraged in intellectual and creative pursuits. Under the influence of their older brother Alfred, Laurence and Clemence developed love for literature, art, and performance within a lively household environment of reading, writing, and amateur dramatics.

Laurence and Clemence both displayed artistic talent and, around 1882–83, began formal training in art. Thanks to an inheritance they received (each about £200), they moved to London to attend Lambeth School of Art and later the Royal College of Art.

Youth and Education

At Bromsgrove School, Laurence was a scholar, attending as a day boy under a scholarship because of his family’s strained finances.

In London, he and Clemence lodged in Camberwell and devoted themselves to art training.

However, Laurence’s vision would gradually deteriorate, nudging him toward writing as a practical and creative outlet.

Career and Achievements

Early Artistic and Literary Work

In his early career, Housman contributed illustrations to books. Among his notable works are:

• Jump to Glory Jane by George Meredith (1892)

• Weird Tales by Jonas Lie (1892)

• Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti (1893)

• The End of Elfintown by Jane Barlow (1894)

• The Were-Wolf (a novella written by his sister Clemence, illustrated by Laurence) (1896)

He also published poetry, hymns, and carols.

When his eyesight declined, he shifted emphasis toward writing. His first literary success was An Englishwoman’s Love-letters (1900), published anonymously. It’s often seen as a satirical take on romantic epistolary novels.

Dramatic Work

Laurence Housman eventually turned definitively to drama and became best known as a playwright. His plays often provoked controversy for depicting Biblical characters or even living monarchs—subjects the British stage often avoided due to censorship.

Some of his significant plays include:

• Bethlehem (1902)

• Little Plays of St. Francis (a cycle drawn from the life and legend of St. Francis)

• Prunella, or Love in a Dutch Garden (1906, in collaboration with Harley Granville-Barker)

• Pains and Penalties (1911)

• Angels & Ministers (1921)

• Victoria Regina (1934)

Victoria Regina became his most famous play, portraying the life of Queen Victoria. However, despite being written in 1934, it could not be publicly staged until 1937, because British theatre law forbade depiction of a sovereign until 100 years after their accession.

Housman’s career as a dramatist was marked by repeated clashes with theatrical censorship. He believed himself “the most censored playwright in England”—yet, in many cases, his works were eventually produced or published when social attitudes changed.

Other Writings

Housman’s literary output was huge—some sources suggest around 80 published books.Trimblerigg: A Book of Revelation and The Duke of Flamborough), short stories, essays, translations, lectures, and pamphlets.

He also edited and curated works, including acting as literary executor for his brother A. E. Housman after his death in 1936.

In 1945, a radical bookshop called Housmans was established in London, named in his honour and co-founded by sympathizers of the Peace Pledge Union. The shop became a hub for pacifist and progressive literature.

Historical Milestones & Context

Women’s Suffrage & Activism

Housman was not merely an artist or writer—he was an active feminist and suffrage supporter. He believed that men should take an active role in supporting women’s right to vote. In 1907 he co-founded the Men’s League for Women’s Suffrage with Henry Nevinson and Henry Brailsford.

In 1909, he and his sister Clemence founded the Suffrage Atelier, an organization that produced visual propaganda (especially banners) for the women’s suffrage movement. The Atelier paid its artists by selling items to the suffrage campaign community.

Their home at 1 Pembroke Cottage in Kensington served as a center for suffrage activism. Lectures, art projects, and organizational meetings took place there.

Housman also took part in public protest. He was arrested in 1914 during a disturbance related to suffrage campaigning.

Pacifism, Humanism, and Sexual Reform

Housman was a lifelong pacifist. During World War I, he contributed articles to The Workers’ Dreadnought (a socialist newspaper) and embarked on lecture tours promoting peace and the League of Nations.

Religiously, he moved from a conventional Christian upbringing toward ethical humanism and rationalism. He became vice-president of the Ethical Union (later Humanists UK).

On questions of gender and sexuality, Housman was quite forward for his time. He joined the Order of Chaeronea, a secret society that advocated for social understanding of homosexuality. He was also a founding figure in the British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology.

Given the legal and cultural climate of his era, Housman was discreet in public about his homosexuality, but his engagements and networks suggest a long-term commitment to sexual reform and acceptance.

Later Life

In his later years, Laurence lived with Clemence in Street, Somerset, for about 35 years until his death.

Posthumously, his name was included—alongside 58 other suffrage figures—on the plinth of the Millicent Fawcett statue in Parliament Square (which was unveiled in 2018).

Personality and Talents

Laurence Housman was a man of many contradictions and deep convictions.

• Versatility: He moved fluidly among art, literature, drama, politics, and social activism. His ability to express himself in multiple media was central to his identity.

• Courage and outspokenness: He confronted censorship, societal norms, and legal constraints in pursuit of expression and justice.

• Dedication to causes: Whether suffrage, pacifism, or sexual reform, he sustained long-term commitment and personal risk.

• Humility and reflection: He sometimes expressed ambivalence about being overshadowed by his more famous brother A. E. Housman; yet he embraced his own path.

• Inner tension: His life was marked by the challenge of living openly in a society that did not readily accept all his convictions. His writings sometimes reflect that tension between public engagement and private restraint.

Famous Quotes of Laurence Housman

Here are some of Laurence Housman’s memorable quotes (selected and adapted):

1. “My failure, during the first five or six years of my art training, … drove me the more persistently into writing as an alternative.”

2. “I still think that if the human race, or even one nation, could only get right about its God the rest would follow.”

3. “I shall not die young, for I am already near seventy: I may die old.”

4. “The modern form of things had begun to appeal to me … as material for satire, politics, and the lives of the great and little.”

5. “The mere dates of my existence do not interest me … When the Great War started I was too old to be acceptable as a volunteer; when conscription followed I was too old to be conscripted.”

6. “If I loved all the world as I do you, I shouldn’t write books to it: I should only write letters to it, … a clumsy stage on the way to entire telepathy.”

7. “Suicide is possible, but not probable; … I hope … my countrymen will have become civilised enough to abolish capital punishment.”

8. “It is right and natural that generous minds while in the twenties should think the books which try to reform the world’s wrong the greatest of all.”

These lines reflect his inner reflections on art, faith, social change, and mortality.

Lessons from Laurence Housman

• Art and activism can co-exist: Housman’s life illustrates that creative work and social causes need not be separate. He used visual art, theatre, literature, and public protest to advance feminist, pacifist, and humanist ideals.

• Courage in the face of censorship: Even when authority and convention shut doors, persistence—and strategic timing—can open them later.

• Conviction tempered with humility: Housman recognized his place in the world and the shadows under which he operated (e.g. his brother’s fame), yet carved his own identity.

• Lifelong evolution: His shifting from art to writing, and from religious to humanist beliefs, shows that thinkers can grow—and their work can reflect that growth.

• Quiet legacy: Housman was not always in the spotlight, but his consistent moral and artistic contributions left tangible marks—whether in theatre, suffrage, humanism, or radical bookstore culture.

Conclusion

Laurence Housman’s legacy is multifaceted. He was not merely a playwright or illustrator but a man who bridged art and social conscience. His plays—particularly Victoria Regina—remain a testament to his theatrical ambition; his activism for women’s rights, peace, and sexual reform shows a moral courage rare in his time.

Today, as conversations about gender, equality, freedom of expression, and humanism continue to evolve, Housman’s life offers resonant lessons. His example encourages us to blend creativity with conviction, to persist through resistance, and to leave behind work grounded in both artistry and integrity.

Explore more of his quotations and writings, and you may find guidance for your own path of expression and purpose.