An Angel Amongst Strange Bears: John Hobart - 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire - Blickling Hall, Norfolk (Paperback) - Joy Beresford Frye 

An Angel Amongst Strange Bears: John Hobart - 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire - Blickling Hall, Norfolk (Paperback) - Joy Beresford Frye 

Shortlisted in the Biography and Memoir category 2023, East Anglian Book Awards

Stephen Bumphrey, judging the category remarked:
This thorough account of Hobart's life is a colourful and intriguing step into Norfolk's thriving and sometimes turbulent past. As he engages with life and love and in foreign and home affairs we see Hobart's diplomatic skills, empathy and philanthropic bent shine brightly. So much so that I wonder how the world would be today had there been a few more of his kind.

Born in Norfolk and motherless at the age of four, John Hobart was brought up in large part at Marble Hill, Twickenham by his beloved aunt, Henrietta Howard, the legendary former mistress of George II. In this book Joy Beresford Frye constructs his life from both his letters and other contemporary writings. Hobart’s writing style reveals a highly developed sense of the absurd and, together with his naturally optimistic outlook on life, portrays a unique perspective on the events of the time.

A convivial young man, he thoroughly enjoyed his Grand Tour in Italy and on return played his part in Georgian society. As Member of Parliament for Norwich he immersed himself in politics where local duties were sometimes onerous, ‘I was told it would be extremely proper for me to dance with the Mayor’s daughter in law, a beauteous maiden of fifty, but declined the honor and content’d myself with gazing upon her at a distance.’

He dealt diplomatically with his rich and powerful neighbours at Houghton, Holkham and Gunton. The lower orders learned to respect him firstly as their MP, as a judge and then, when 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, as a fair and just landowner.

He was appointed Ambassador to Russia at the Court of the Empress Catherine, partly owing to ‘his young and strikingly handsome presence’ where he would fit into a court known for ‘its gaiety and dissipation’. His energy, charm and natural diplomacy made him a popular figure, not least with the future Catherine the Great herself, with whom he shared a passion for horses.

Later, as Lord Lieutenant and Viceroy of Ireland, myriad intrigues caused confusion, and deception manifested itself during a turbulent time between Dublin’s parliament and the home government in London.

An admirer and fervent lover of women, he married twice, and on both occasions his wives were considerably younger than himself. Scandal befell his family when his eldest daughter was put on trial for adultery and tragedy struck too often with the deaths of four of his eight children. His customary good humour was understandably extinguished during these events.

This most genial of men had a great love for Norfolk, its people, and most especially for Blickling. It is John Hobart we have to thank for, amongst other things, preserving the then unfashionable Jacobean architectural style, for the serpentine lake, the Orangery, and the grand state rooms, particularly the magnificent Peter the Great room. His lasting memorial is the Mausoleum in the Great Wood commissioned, in his honour, by his widow and his second daughter, both named Caroline.

Impeccably researched and beautifully written, this book brings one of the most fascinating characters of the Georgian age vividly to life. It is a story of high society and international diplomacy, of scandal and tragedy, love and loss—all set against the backdrop of one of the most dazzling and dramatic eras in British history. I was captivated from the first page to the last.’
Tracy Borman, author of Henrietta Howard: King’s Mistress, Queen’s Servant and Joint Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces.