William Henry Hudson(1841-1922)

British writer, novelist and ornithologist William Henry Hudson was born in 1841 in Argentina. His parents were English, though born in the New England area of the US (his grandfather came to the US from Exeter, England, on the Mayflower). His father eventually moved the family to Argentina, where William was born, to raise sheep. Young William roamed the pampas--as the Argentine plains were called--becoming an expert on the plant and animal life of the area. At 15 years old he took part in a cattle drive that was caught in a severe blizzard and he contracted rheumatic fever, which adversely affected his health for the rest of his life. While recovering from the illness, he read "The Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin (V), which made a lasting impression on him.

After his parents' death he began to travel extensively, but in 1869 he moved to England and settled there. In 1876 he married a much older woman, and they lived on the edge of poverty, even though they had income from two boarding houses, until his wife inherited a house in the Bayswater section of London, where Hudson spent the rest of his days.

His early novels were influenced by his life on the South American plains, being mainly romances in that exotic setting, but were not particularly successful at the time. He is probably best known for his 1904 novel "Green Mansions" (filmed in 1959 as Green Mansions (1959)). Although not as successful as many of his contemporaries, such as Joseph Conrad and Ford Madox Ford, Hudson became close friends with them. He soon began writing books with ornithological themes, and began to gain recognition. Several of his books helped to bring about the "back-to-nature" movement, such as "Afoot in England" (1909), "A Shepherd's Life" (1910) and "A Friend in Richmond Park" (1922).

Hudson died in London, England, after a bout with heart disease, in 1922.