Laura Z. Hobson was an American novelist best known for her novel,
Gentleman's AgreementGentleman's Agreement is a 1947 novel by Laura Z. Hobson which explored the problem of anti-Semitism in the United States, what The New York Times called, in a contemporary review, "a story of the emotional disturbance that occurs within a man who elects, for the sake of getting a magazine article,...
.
Born
Laura Kean Zametkin in New York City, the daughter of Jewish
socialistSocialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
immigrants, she graduated from
Cornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. On July 23, 1930, she married Francis Thayer Hobson, owner of
William Morrow and CompanyWilliam Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, and sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981. It was sold along to the News Corporation in 1999...
. In 1934, she joined the promotional staff of
TimeTime is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
,
LifeLife generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
, and
FortuneFortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
.
In 1935, her marriage ended in divorce. In 1937, she decided to adopt a baby, Christopher. She became pregnant with her second son Michael in 1941, raising both children on her own.
After 1940 she devoted herself to writing. On April 27, 1947, her most famous work,
Gentleman's Agreement, about a
gentileThe term Gentile refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible....
researching antisemitism for a national magazine. reached #1 on
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
best-sellers' list and sold over 1.6 million copies. A later novel,
Consenting Adult (1975), about a mother dealing with her son's
homosexualityHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, was based on her experience with her son, Christopher. It was adapted as a made-for-TV movie in 1985.
Hobson died on February 28, 1986, in New York City.
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