Housman stu­died art at the Lam­beth School of Art and the Roy­al Coll­ege of Art. He had great suc­cess as an il­lus­trat­or, but when his eye­sight be­gan to fail, he turned to writ­ing books and plays. He wrote 80 books dur­ing his life­time. He oft­en seemed to fall afoul of the cen­sors, though, for re­li­gious and po­li­tic­al rea­sons. A com­mit­ted so­cial­ist and pa­ci­fist, in 1907, he helped found the Men’s League for Wo­men’s Suf­frage. He was al­so an hon­or­a­ry as­so­ci­ate of the Wo­men Writ­ers’ Suf­frage League. His works in­clude:

• Jump-to-Glory Jane, by Meredith
• Goblin Market, by Christina Rossetti, 1893
• The End of Elfintown, by Jane Barlow, 1894
• Spikenard, 1898
• The Sensitive Plant, 1898
• Bethlehem, 1902
• The Blue Moon, 1904
• Angels and Ministers, 1921
• Little Plays of St Francis, 1922
• Victoria Regina, 1937
• The Unexpected Years, 1937 (autobiography)
• A. E. H.: Some Po­ems, Some Letters and a Personal Memoir by His Brother, 1937

Sources

Hymns

1. Father Eternal, Ruler of Crea­tion
2. Lord God of Hosts, Within Whose Hand
3. Maker of the Sun and Moon, The
4. Saint Who First Found Grace to Pen, The
5. When Christ Was Born in Bethlehem

Translations

1. O Christ, Our Joy, to Whom Is Given
2. He, Whose Confession God of Old Accepted
3. Mary, Weep Not, Weep No Longer
4. Now in Ho­ly Celebra­tion
5. O Light of Light, by Love Inclined
6. Portal of the World’s Salva­tion
7. Son of a Virgin, Maker of Thy Mother