Joseph Hocking

Joseph Hocking (7 November 1860 – 4 March 1937) was a Cornish novelist and United Methodist Free Church minister.

Life

Hocking was born at St Stephen-in-Brannel, Cornwall, to James Hocking, part-owner of a tin mine, and his wife Elizabeth (Kitto) Hocking.

In 1884, he was ordained as a Methodist 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 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, Essex, which he was instrumental in having rebuilt by the advanced arts and crafts architect, Charles Harrison Townsend.

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

Hocking's combined bibliography stands at nearly 100 books.

He died in St Ives, Cornwall, 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, Elizabeth Nisot and Joan Shill). A son, Cuthbert, was killed in action in World War I.

Through his mother he was related to the biblical scholar John Kitto. His brother was Silas Hocking (1850–1935), a novelist and Methodist minister, and his sister, Salome Hocking (1859–1927), was also a novelist.