Afbeelding auteur

Clemence Housman (1861–1955)

Auteur van The Were-Wolf

4+ Werken 97 Leden 4 Besprekingen

Werken van Clemence Housman

The Were-Wolf (1896) 59 exemplaren
The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis (1905) 34 exemplaren
The Unknown Sea (2010) 2 exemplaren

Gerelateerde werken

Tales Before Tolkien: The Roots of Modern Fantasy (2003) — Medewerker — 608 exemplaren
A Lycanthropy Reader: Werewolves in Western Culture (1986) — Medewerker — 157 exemplaren
Werewolf! A Chrestomathy of Lycanthropy (1979) — Medewerker — 74 exemplaren
Masters of Horror (1968) — Medewerker — 46 exemplaren
Angels of Darkness: Tales of Troubled and Troubling Women (1995) — Medewerker — 27 exemplaren
Vampire and Werewolf Stories (1998) — Medewerker — 20 exemplaren
Classic Horror Omnibus: Vol.1 (1979) — Auteur — 9 exemplaren
The Black Book of the Werewolf: 32 Stories of Bestial Terror (2010) — Medewerker — 3 exemplaren

Tagged

Algemene kennis

Geboortedatum
1861-11-23
Overlijdensdatum
1955-12-06
Geslacht
female
Nationaliteit
England
UK
Geboorteplaats
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England, UK
Woonplaatsen
Street, Somerset, England, UK
Ashley, Hampshire, England, UK
Opleiding
South London School of Technical Art
Beroepen
novelist
illustrator
activist
women's rights activist
feminist
short story writer
Relaties
Housman, A. E. (brother)
Housman, Laurence (brother)
Organisaties
Women's Social and Political Union
Suffrage Atelier
Korte biografie
Clemence Housman was born in Worcestershire, England, to an intellectual family. She was educated at home along with her younger siblings. Her older brother Alfred would later become famous as the poet and scholar A.E. Housman. After her mother died when she was 10 years old, Clemence began helping to run the household and assist her father with his business affairs.
In 1883, with the benefit of a small inheritance, she left home and attended the South London School of Technical Art. She worked an engraver for illustrated newspapers such as The Graphic. In London, she got to know many artists and writers and became dedicated to the women's suffrage movement. She joined the Women's Social and Political Union, and in 1909 became a co-founder, with her brother Laurence Housman, of the Suffrage Atelier, a feminist group of writers, artists, and actors. The following year, she became a member of the committee of the Women's Tax Resistance League. She was arrested for non-payment of taxes and sent to Holloway Prison, but released after one week following protests and demonstrations by other suffragists. After World War I, she and Laurence lived in a cottage in the village of Ashley in Hampshire, and then moved to Street in Somerset. She published three novels, including The Were-wolf (1896), and numerous short stories such as "The Drawn Arrow" (1923), which still appeared in anthologies. She also illustrated some of the fantasy stories written by Laurence. She used her skills as an engraver and embroiderer to produce banners for a number of women’s suffrage organizations.

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Besprekingen

This was such a thrilling read. It had everything I want from a horror story as well as the ability to truly engage my feelings in a way that is rare for a short story.
 
Gemarkeerd
ChelseaVK | 1 andere bespreking | Dec 10, 2021 |
An incredibly moving story that takes place in the Arthurian mythos and centres around the life of a minor character from Malory, for my money this may be the best novelistic interpretation of the Matter of Britain of the 20th century. The prose is somewhat archaic (Housman follows Malory's style), but for me that was a plus, not a minus. The author gives us an unflinching look into the glory and the squalor of the Arthurian court and doesn't pull any punches.

Aglovale is the son of King Pellinore (a man known in his day for being one of the peerless knights of his generation), and the elder brother of both Lamorak (the future lover of Queen Morgause and one of the knights who will be listed along with Lancelot and Tristan as one of the three greatest of Arthur's court) and Percivale (one of the few who will gain preeminence in the Grail Quest). From the beginning we see that poor Aglovale is doomed from the start and is not likely to live up to this pedigree. As little more than a lad he is unhorsed by his peerless younger brother in front of not only his parents, but also King Arthur himself. From there things go from bad to worse. Aglovale is never able to regain his confidence and, despite some early success in Arthur's wars of succession which gain him a seat at the Round Table, he is never able to overcome his own perceived failures and lack of merit. Thus he moves from Knight of Camelot to mercenary bandit to penitant overburdended by his own guilt and sense of worthlessness.

He is a real tragic anti-hero and it is ironically not necessarily because of his quesitonable deeds, but because of his unbending devotion to truth and his inability to lie in the face of shame. Unlike some knights (such as Gawain, Kay and Agravaine...not to mention Mordred) Aglovale never denies his wrong doing and never seeks the easy way out of explanation and excuse. He calls a spade and spade and as a result ends up being showered with abuse and ignominy while other Knights of his acquantaince do deeds as bad as his own (or worse)and remain high in Arthur's favour. Indeed, Arthur is far from fully sympathetic in this tale for he seems to see in Aglovale a tacit criticism of his peerless court and is willing to let this single man bear the weight of the crimes that he refuses to deny. Still, he struggles on and manages to remain true to his own ideals even in the face of the derision and failure he meets at every turn. The flip-side of this is that Aglovale is a hard man. He spares no excuses for himself and thus does not flinch at applying the same rigorous standards to others. This of course does not win him any friends. Only his brothers and, ironically enough, Lancelot bear any admiration for Aglovale. Of his brothers only Percivale can perceive the good man his older brother is trying to be (the others view him with a sort of shamefaced admiration which vacilates between embarrassment and sympathy). For his part Lancelot sees a man able to live a life his own sense of honour could only dream of...he has too much to lose should he publicly admit to the acts he has done in private, and he honours the man he cannot afford to be.

It sounds a dreary tale, and there are definitely moments of drudgery in Aglovale's life, in fact many dark nights of the soul he must endure, yet despite all that a character who is not always lovable is made sympathetic and I always find myself rooting for this underdog in the shining court. In the end Aglovale's tale becomes not only a story of a fallen man struggling for redemption, but a critique of the inadequacies of Camelot and a warning of the dangers in the acceptance of any ideal that will allow falsehood to endure for the sake of public image.
… (meer)
1 stem
Gemarkeerd
dulac3 | 1 andere bespreking | Apr 2, 2013 |
One of the best novels I've ever read, Arthurian or otherwise -- this novel opened my eyes like no other to the moral hypocrisy of what was King Arthur's court -- and the writing is superb.
1 stem
Gemarkeerd
Georges_T._Dodds | 1 andere bespreking | Mar 30, 2013 |
Worth reading simply for the beautiful writing,
 
Gemarkeerd
Georges_T._Dodds | 1 andere bespreking | Mar 30, 2013 |

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Statistieken

Werken
4
Ook door
11
Leden
97
Populariteit
#194,532
Waardering
½ 3.6
Besprekingen
4
ISBNs
32

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