Author: Clemence Housman. Illustrated by Laurence Housman.
Title: The Were-Wolf.
Publisher: London: John Lane at the Bodley Head; Chicago: Way and Williams, 1896. First Edition.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 7.5 x 6 inches.
Pages: 123 pages.
Binding: Very good publisher’s original russet cloth binding, decorated with Laurence Housman’s heart-shaped device on the front cover, lettered in black to spine and upper board, top and bottom ruled border (hinges fine, overall slightly scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. 
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing and toning - as shown, ownership ex-libris to front free endpaper - as shown). 
Illustrations: Complete with six full-page illustrations by Laurence Housman, finely printed in black line. Illustrations remain sharp, darkly atmospheric, and are finely suited to this Gothic tale.

Estimate: (USD 400 – 600).

The book: A rare first edition of Clemence Housman’s celebrated Gothic novella The Were-Wolf (1896), a masterwork of late-Victorian supernatural fiction. First published by John Lane at the Bodley Head, this slender volume is admired for its proto-feminist and allegorical dimensions, in which a mysterious female were-wolf, White Fell, brings both fascination and destruction to a Scandinavian farming community. The blend of fantasy, horror, and religious symbolism has ensured its lasting place in the canon of fin-de-siècle weird literature. This edition’s striking design, with red ornamental capitals and Laurence Housman’s stark illustrations, epitomizes the art-book style of the Bodley Head.

The author: Clemence Annie Housman (1861–1955), sister of the poet A.E. Housman and illustrator Laurence Housman, was an English author, suffragist, and wood-engraver. The Were-Wolf remains her best-known literary work, blending folkloric transformation with moral allegory. Her involvement with the suffrage movement and her role as a political activist add depth to the novella’s themes of gender, morality, and sacrifice.

The illustrator: Laurence Housman (1865–1959), a key figure in the Arts and Crafts movement, was both author and artist. His illustrations for The Were-Wolf—bold, dramatic woodcut-style line drawings—heighten the story’s sinister, mystical atmosphere. Housman’s visual style, echoing medieval and Pre-Raphaelite traditions, aligns seamlessly with the book’s Gothic and symbolic themes, making this edition a landmark in Victorian book design.