John Oliver Hobbes

Ariel Gunn (University of Florida)
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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,

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 19 March 2024.]

2153 John Oliver Hobbes 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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