This week's seminar was about Laurence Houseman's 'House of Joy', a series of short stories or fairytales published in 1895, with illustrations that were wood-engraved by his sister, Clemence Houseman. The text is filled with many beautiful yet tragic stories accompanied by equally beautiful yet tragic illustrations. Fairytales in the Victorian era were known for being a method of educating young children, by teaching them social mores and customs. Some fairytale authors who accomplished this through their writing include Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm. Houseman's fairytales are a bit different as they don't necessarily teach social mores and customs, instead, they speak to and subvert concepts such as gender, sexuality, and notions of family through coded messages and symbolism. For example, in the 'Luck of Roses', the couple who could not have any children, choosing to tend to their roses and treating them as children can be seen as a coded way of speaking about queer families that cannot biologically have children of their own or even adopt because of prejudices against them in the Victorian era (and even now). In 'The Story of Herons' depicts a princess who falls in love with a heron, and they have children together. This story along with 'The Prince With Nine Sorrows' reminded me of another fairytale that I know called 'The Six Swans' that has a storyline that is a combination of both these stories. Also, regarding the tiger lily present in the illustration for 'The Story of Herons', tiger lilies symbolize pride, confidence, and wealth, its inclusion could symbolize that the prince and princess believe that their child(ren) are the greatest gifts they could ever receive; a symbol of their overwhelming love for their children which is further seen when they let their children go free in the story. Laurence Houseman's fairytales are beautifully written and illustrated, I enjoyed reading them.