Henry Hobhouse (author)

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Henry Hobhouse
Born24 December 1924
Seeds of Change: Five Plants That Transformed Mankind
Spouses
  • Frances Liedloff
  • Pamela Hill
  • Bridget Brooks
Children5, including
Stephen Henry Hobhouse
(uncle)
Henry Hobhouse (MP)
(grandfather)
Richard Potter

(great grandfather)

Henry Hobhouse (24 December 1924 – 5 March 2016), was an English sailor, broadcaster, journalist, farmer, author, and politician, best known for his book

Seeds of Change: Five Plants That Transformed Mankind
.

Early life

Henry Hobhouse was known as "Tom" to distinguish him from his grandfather, a well-known Liberal politician also named

Stephen Henry Hobhouse
.

He was educated at

D-Day landing whilst working on the Operation Pluto underwater pipeline.[1]

Career

After the war, Hobhouse found work with

The Daily Express.[2][1]

In the 1950s, he moved back to Somerset, where he spent the rest of life running a farm on the family estate, and became a Conservative Party county councillor in the 1980s. He was chairman of the county council from 1989 to 1992.[1]

His 1985 book,

Seeds of Change: Five Plants That Transformed Mankind, shows how the history of the world since Columbus "discovered" America has been changed by five plants: sugar, tea, cotton, the potato, and the cinchona (source of quinine). His obituary in The Guardian noted that "Seeds of Change altered the way we understand modern history".[3]

In the 1999 second edition of the book, Seeds of Change: Six plants that transformed mankind, Hobhouse added the

coca plant to the list.[4] In 2003, he published a follow-up book Seeds of Wealth: Four Plants That Made Men Rich covering timber, wine, rubber, and tobacco.[5]

Personal life

His first wife was the American sculptor Frances Liedloff, and their daughter, Janet Hobhouse, became an author and biographer of Gertrude Stein.[3][1]

His second wife was Pamela Hill. They married in 1954 and had four sons together, including the businessman Will Hobhouse. She died in 1981. In 1987 he married Bridget Brooks, who survives him.[3]

At his funeral, the eulogy was given by his godson, the Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Henry Hobhouse, author - obituary The Daily Telegraph. 25 March 2016
  2. ^ "Henry Hobhouse". Counterpoint Press. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Henry Hobhouse obituary The Guardian. 10 April 2016
  4. PMC 1139966
    .
  5. ^ "Review: Seeds of Wealth | Green Gold | Books". The Guardian. 4 April 2003. Retrieved 24 May 2016.

External links

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