John Oliver Hobbes

Ariel Gunn (University of Florida)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Dates

Born 3 Nov 1867
Died 13 Aug 1906
Activity 1891-1906

Places

Born in United States
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Journalist
Novelist
Playwright / Dramatist

Resources

Hobbes' Works

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John Oliver Hobbes (real name Pearl Mary-Teresa Richards Craigie) first received attention for her novellas, or what she called her “philosophical fantasias”(1) – witty, sometimes glib drawing room comedies full of irony, epigrams, and quirky characters. These early works often narrate the disappointments and absurdities of life and love. One of the most important English Catholic novelists of the 1890s, the influence of her conversion to Catholicism in 1892 can be seen in some of her early works, but most notably in her novels

The School for Saints

and

Robert Orange

. In spite of her place in the history of the Catholic novel, she is largely unread today, though recent scholarship on female

fin de siècle

writers has renewed interest in writers like Hobbes.

Born near Boston,

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1194 words

Citation: Gunn, Ariel. "John Oliver Hobbes". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 February 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2153, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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