Laurence Housman papers

The Laurence Housman collection is divided into three sections: Correspondence, Manuscripts, and Family Materials. Laurence Housman materials can also be found in the A.E. Housman Collection.

Correspondence is organized into Incoming Correspondence, Outgoing Correspondence, and Third Party. Most of Housman's correspondents are friends, colleagues, and business associates. Of particular note are prominent literary figures including William Butler Yeats, Edith Wharton, and Oscar Wilde. These letters contain discussions of Housman's literary and political endeavors. The majority of Outgoing Correspondence consists of letters to affiliates of the Society of Authors and the League of British Dramatists, two major literary agencies. There is also a folder within this section with materials on censorship including a list of alterations required by the censors and a written script of corrections for the Lyric Theater productions. All third party correspondence is in reference to the work of Housman. Extensive correspondence between Housman and his brother, A. E. Housman, can be found in the A. E. Housman Papers.

Manuscripts contains seven boxes of Housman's written work. These include corrected copies and prompter scripts for Victoria Regina and Little Plays of St. Francis, drafts and used scripts of other plays, manuscripts of Housman's Fiction and Poetry, and transcripts of Lectures delivered by Housman on a variety of topics, including censorship, pacifism, the women's movement, religion, and various literary themes. Other Materials includes some autobiographical accounts, manuscripts by other writers (including Clemence and George Housman), notes on his family, photographs of his plays, several dozen drawings and sketches for sets, and a manuscript for Housman's unpublished book on ethics, What I Believe.

Family Materials includes a set of letters from various family members, as well as a large body of material concerning Housman's handling of A.E. Housman's literary estate after his death in 1936.