Joseph Hocking (7 November 1860 – 4 March 1937) was a Cornish

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

United Methodist Free Church United Methodist Free Churches, sometimes called Free Methodists, was an English nonconformist community in the last half of the 19th century. It was formed in 1857 by the amalgamation of the Wesleyan Association (which had in 1836 largely absorbed ...

minister.

Life

Hocking was born at

St Stephen-in-Brannel St Stephen-in-Brannel (known locally as ''St Stephen's'' or ''St Stephen'') ( kw, Eglosstefan yn Branel) is a civil parish and village in mid Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. St Stephen village is four miles (6.5 km) west of St Austell ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, to James Hocking, part-owner of a tin mine, and his wife Elizabeth (Kitto) Hocking. In 1884, he was ordained as a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

minister. Working in different parts of England over the next few years, he wrote his first novel, ''Harry Penhale - The Trial of his Faith'', while in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1887. He regarded fiction as a highly effective medium for conveying his Christian message to the public, and combined his writing with his church duties, until ill health forced him to resign from the ministry in 1909. His last pastoral charge was the large and important United Free Church at

Woodford Woodford may refer to: Places Australia *Woodford, New South Wales *Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region *Woodford, Victoria Canada * Woodford, Ontario England *Woodford, Cornwall * Woodford, Gloucestershire *Woodford, Greate ...

, Essex, which he was instrumental in having rebuilt by the advanced arts and crafts architect,

Charles Harrison Townsend Charles Harrison Townsend (13 May 1851 — 26 December 1928) was an English architect. He was born in Birkenhead, educated at Birkenhead School and articled to the Liverpool architect Walter Scott in 1870. He moved to London with his family in 1880 ...

. On his recovery, he found himself a much sought-after preacher across Britain, and he travelled extensively in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. He continued to write, and over the course of his career, he was the author of nearly 100 books. Although largely forgotten now, he was tremendously popular in his day. He died in St Ives,

, and was survived by his wife, Annie, who he had married in 1887, and four daughters, three of whom become published novelists in their own right (

Anne Hocking Naomi Annie Hocking Messer (1889 – 17 March 1966), known as Anne Hocking and nicknamed "Mona," was an English crime writer, best remembered for her detective stories featuring Chief Superintendent William Austen. Life and career The daught ...

Elizabeth Nisot Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

and

Joan Shill Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine *Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multiple ...

). A son, Cuthbert, was killed in World War I]. Through his mother he was related to the biblical scholar

John Kitto John Kitto (4 December 1804 – 25 November 1854) was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent. Biography Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his ...

. His brother was

Silas Hocking Silas Kitto Hocking (24 March 1850 – 15 September 1935) was a British novelist and Methodist preacher. He is known for his novel for youth called ''Her Benny'' (1879), which was a best-seller. Biography Hocking was born at St Stephen-in-Bra ...

(1850–1935), a novelist and Methodist minister, and his sister,

Salome Hocking Salome Hocking Fifield (née Hocking; April 1859 – April 1927) was a Cornish novelist. She was born at Terras, St Stephen-in-Brannel, Cornwall, to James Hocking, a mine agent, and his wife Elizabeth (née Kitto). She was one of seven siblings, a ...

(1859–1927), was also a novelist. Hocking features as one of the main characters in the 2009 play ''Surfing Tommies'' by Cornish playwright,

Alan M. Kent Alan M. Kent (1967 – 20 July 2022) was a Cornish poet, dramatist, novelist, editor, academic and teacher. He was the author of a number of works on Cornish and Anglo-Cornish literature. Kent was born in 1967 in St Austell, Cornwall and died ...

. Joseph Hocking's ashes were buried in the churchyard of

Selected works

*''Harry Penhale, the Trial of his Faith'' (1887) *''Gideon Strong, Plebeian'' (1888) *''Jabez Easterbrook: a Religious Novel'' (1890) *''The Weapons of Mystery'' (1890) *''Elrad the Hic: a Romance of the Sea of Galilee'' (1890) *''Ishmael Pengelly, an Outcast'' (1893) *''The Story of Andrew Fairfax'' (1893) *''The Monk of Mar-Saba'' (1894) *''Zillah: a Romance'' (1895) *''The Mist on the Moors: a Romance of North Cornwall'' (1895) *''Fields of Fair Renown'' (1896) *''And Shall Trelawney Die? and, The Mist on the Moors: being Romances of the Parish of Altarnun in Cornwall'' (1897) *''The Birthright: being the Adventurous History of Jaspar Pennington'' (1897) *''Mistress Nancy Molesworth: a Tale of Adventure'' (1898) *''The Scarlet Woman; a Novel'' (1899) *''The Purple Robe'' (1900) *''The Madness of David Baring'' (1900) *''O'er Moor and Fen: a Tale of Methodist Life in Lancashire'' (1901) *''Lest We Forget'' (1901) *''Greater Love: a Cornish Romance'' (1902) *''A Flame of Fire'' (1903) *''Follow the gleam: a Tale of the time of Oliver Cromwell'' (1903) A Historical novel about the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

*''Esau and St. Issey'' (1904) *''The Coming of the King'' (1904) *''Roger Trewinion'' (1905) *''The Chariots of the Lord'' (1905) *''The Man who Rose Again'' (1906) *''The Woman of Babylon'' (1907) *''A Strong Man's Vow'' (1907) *''The Trampled Cross'' (1907) *''The Soul of Dominic Wildthorne'' (1908) *''The Sword of the Lord: a Romance of the Time of Martin Luther'' (1909) *''The Prince of This World'' (1910) *''The Wilderness'' (1911) *''The Jesuit'' (1911) *''The Bells of St Ia'' (1911) *''Is Home Rule Rome Rule?'' (1912) *''God and Mammon'' (1912) *''Rosaleen O'Hara: a Romance of Ireland'' (1912) *''The Spirit of the West'' (1913) *''All Men are Liars'' (1914) *''Facing Fearful Odds'' (1914) *''An Enemy Hath Done This'' (1914) *''Dearer than Life: a Romance of the Great War'' (1915) *''All for a Scrap of Paper: a Romance of the Present War'' (1915) *''The Day of Judgement'' (1915) *''Tommy: a War Story'' (1916) *''The Passion for Life'' (1916) *''The Curtain of Fire'' (1916) *''The Path of Glory'' (1917) *''Tommy and the Maid of Athens'' (1917) *''The Pomp of Yesterday'' (1918) *''The price of a Throne'' (1918) *''The Everlasting Arms'' (1920) *''In the Sweat of Thy Brow'' (1920) *''The Man who Almost Lost'' (1920) *''Prodigal Daughters'' (1922) *''The Girl who Defied the World'' (1922) *''The Game and the Candle'' (1923) *''The Case of Miss Dunstable'' (1923) *''Prodigal Parents'' (1923) *''What Shall it Profit a Man'' (1924) *''Rosemary Carew: Just a Love Story'' (1925) *''The All Conquering Power'' (1925) *''The Wagon and the Star'' (1925) *''Heartsease: the Story of a Feud'' (1926) *''Bevil Granville's Handicap'' (1926) *''Andrew Boconnoc's Will: the Story of a Crisis'' (1927) *''The Tenant of Cromlech Cottage'' (1927) *''Felicity Treverbyn: a Love Story'' (1928) *''The Constant Enemy'' (1929) *''The Sign of the Triangle'' (1929) *''The God that Answers by Fire'' (1930) *''Nancy Trevanion's Legacy'' (1930) *''The Dust of Life'' (1930) *''The Eternal Challenge'' (1930) *''Out of the Depths'' (1930) *''The Secret of Trescobell'' (1931) *''The Man who was Sure'' (1931) *''The Eternal Choice'' (1932) *''Caleb's Conquest'' (1932) *''Not One in Ten'' (1933) *''No Other Name'' (1934) *''And Grant a Leader Bold'' (1934) *''The Squire of Zabuloe'' (1936) *''Deep Calleth unto Deep'' (1936) *''Davey's Ambition'' (1936)

References

Sources

, ''Pulp Methodism. The Lives & Literature of Silas, Joseph & Salome Hocking'', Cornish Hillside Publications, 2002.

External links

* * * * * Cornish Methodists People from St Stephen-in-Brannel 1860 births 1937 deaths 19th-century English novelists 20th-century English novelists 19th-century Methodist ministers Novelists from Cornwall English male novelists English historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period 19th-century English male writers 20th-century English male writers {{England-novelist-stub