Pearl Mary Teresa Richards (November 3, 1867 – August 13, 1906) was an Anglo-American

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 asp ...

and

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

who wrote under the pen-name of John Oliver Hobbes. Though her work fell out of print in the twentieth-century, her first book ''Some Emotions and a Moral'' was a sensation in its day, selling eighty-thousand copies in only a few weeks.

Early years

Pearl Mary Teresa Richards, born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, was the eldest daughter of the businessman John Morgan Richards and his wife Laura Hortense Arnold. Her father had Calvinist roots and her grandfather was a Presbyterian minister. The family moved to London soon after her birth, and she was educated in London and Paris.

Beginnings

When she was nineteen, she married Reginald Walpole Craigie, by whom she had one son, John Churchill Craigie. The unhappy marriage was dissolved on her petition in July 1895. She was brought up as a

Nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

, but in 1892 she was received into the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, where she remained, until her death, a devout and serious member. Her successful career as a novelist and playwright also made her a popular socialite with associates as diverse as

George Tyrrell George Tyrrell (6 February 1861 – 15 July 1909) was an Anglo-Irish Catholic priest and a leading modernist theologian and scholar. A convert from Anglicanism, Tyrrell joined the Jesuit order in 1880. His attempts to adapt Catholic theology ...

Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (21 August 187216 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His black ink drawings were influenced by Japanese woodcuts, and depicted the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the ...

, and George Moore, who had been her lover. Photo of John Oliver Hobbes (1890)

Career

Her first book, the brief, epigrammatic ''Some Emotions and a Moral'', was published in 1891 in T. Fisher Unwin's Pseudonym Library. With its accounts of unhappy marriage and infidelity, it was an immediate hit.Martin Seymour-Smith, ''Hardy'' (1994) p. 477 Following it were similarly bohemian novels like ''The Sinner's Comedy'' (1892), ''A Study in Temptations'' (1893), ''A Bundle of Life'' (1894), and ''The Gods, Some Mortals, and Lord Wickenham''. ''The Herb Moon'' (1896), a country love story, was followed by ''The School for Saints'' (1897), with a sequel, ''Robert Orange'' (1900). Her novels were ridiculed in a contemporary verse: :John Oliver Hobbes, :with your spasms and throbs, :How does your novel grow? :With cynical sneers :at young Love and his tears, :And epigrams all in a row. Richards had already written a one-act proverb, ''Journeys end in Lovers Meeting'', produced by

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry, (27 February 184721 July 1928), was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and tour ...

in 1894, and a three-act tragedy, ''Osbern and Ursyne'', printed in the '' Anglo-Saxon Review'' (1899), when her successful piece, ''The Ambassador'', was produced at the

St James's Theatre The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham; it lost money and after three seasons he retired. A succ ...

in 1898. ''A Repentance'' (one act, 1899) and ''The Wisdom of the Wise'' (1900) were produced at the same theatre, and ''The Flute of Pan'' (1904) first at Manchester and then at the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was ...

; she was also part author of ''The Bishop's Move.'' (

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ' ...

, 1902). The first Act of her play ''The Fool's Hour'', written in collaboration with George Moore was published in Volume I of

The Yellow Book ''The Yellow Book'' was a British quarterly literary periodical that was published in London from 1894 to 1897. It was published at The Bodley Head Publishing House by Elkin Mathews and John Lane, and later by John Lane alone, and edited by th ...

, a leading journal of the 1890s associated with

Decadence The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honor, discipline, or skill at governing among the members ...

and

Aestheticism Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be pro ...

.Yellow Nineties Online.
John Oliver Hobbes 001

Later books are ''The Serious Wooing'' (1901), ''Love and the Soul Hunters'' (1902), ''Tales about Temperament'' (1902), and ''The Vineyard'' (1904). From 1900, Richards lived and worked at her villa near her parents' home at St Lawrence,

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. The villa, now called Craigie Lodge, bears a small commemorative plaque memorializing Richards's time there. An account of her friendship with Father (later Bishop) William Brown, based on volumes of their correspondence, was published by M. F. Brown as ''The Priest and the Playwright'' (Pen Press, 2009).

Death

In 1906, she died suddenly of heart failure in London en route to a holiday in Scotland. She is interred in Kensal Green Cemetery."Steephill Castle, Ventnor, Isle of Wight, the residence of John Morgan Richards, Esq.; a handbook and a history", John B Marsh, privately published by Dangerfield Printing Company, 1907 (Internet Archiv
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There is a memorial plaque to her in the Main Library of

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, where she studied Greek, Latin and English Literature. It was unveiled in July 1908 by

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...

of Kedleston.

Selected works

Novels

Original Tile Page of Some Emotions and a Moral (1891)

*''Some Emotions and a Moral'' (1891) *''The Sinner's Comedy'' (1892) *''A Study in Temptations'' (1893) *''A Bundle of Life'' (1894) *''The Gods, Some Mortals, and Lord Wickenham'' (1895) *''Some Good Intentions and a Blunder'' (1895) *''The Herb-Moon: A Fantasia'' (1896) *''The School for Saints'' (1897) *''Robert Orange'' (1900) *''The Serious Wooing: A Heart's History'' (1901) *''Love and the Soul Hunters'' (1902) *''The Vineyard'' (1904) *''Flute of Pan: A Romance'' (1904) *''The Dream and the Business'' (1906)

Plays

Pencil Sketch of John Oliver Hobbes (1895)

*''The Ambassador: A Comedy in Four Acts'' (1898) *''Osbern and Ursyne: A Drama in Three Acts'' (1900) *''The Wisdom of the Wise: A Comedy in Three Acts'' (1900) *''The Bishops̕ Move: A Comedy in Three Acts'' (1902)

Essays

*''Imperial India: Letters from the East'' (1903) *''The Artists Life'' (1904) *''The Science of Life'' (1904) *''Letters from a Silent Study'' (1904)

Collections

*''The Tales of John Oliver Hobbes'' (1897), containing ''Some Emotions and a Moral,'' ''A Study in Temptations,'' ''The Sinner's Comedy,'' and ''A Bundle of Life'' *''Tales about Temperaments'' (1902), containing ''The Worm That God Prepared'', Tis An Ill Flight Without Wings'', ''A Repentance: A Drama in One Act'' (1899), ''Price Toto'', and ''Journeys End In Lovers Meeting'' (1894) which was for

. *''Life and To-morrow: Selections from the Writings of John Oliver Hobbes'' (1907), Arranged by Zoë Procter *''The Life of John Oliver Hobbes Told in Her Correspondence with Numerous Friends'' (1911), with John Morgan Richards and Rev. Bishop Welldon

References

Attribution

* *

Bibliography

* J. M. Richards, ''Life of John Oliver Hobbes Told in her Correspondence with Numerous Friends'', (New York, 1911) *Mildred Davis Harding, ''Air-bird in the Water: The Life and Works of Pearl Craigie (John Oliver Hobbes)'', (New Jersey, 1996)

External links

Finding aid to the Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie papers at Columbia University
* *

Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie papers, 1894-1909
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...