All for a Scrap of Paper A Romance of the Present War

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.