She was the second daughter of land agent and deputy lord lieutenant of County Antrim, Edmund McNeill and his wife Mary (née Miller).
The family moved from her mother's home of Ballycastle, County Antrim in 1866 to a newly built mansion, Craigdunn near Ballymena.
Hobhouse was an ardent unionist, and spoke in England against Irish home rule during the 1887 and 1888 elections.
He was a student at Christ Church, Oxford who went on to be ordained and along with other appointments, was a headmaster of Durham School, archdeacon of Aston, and the canon residentiary of Gloucester.
After her marriage, Hobhouse continued to write, including two novels: An unknown quantity in 1898 and Warp and weft in 1899.