O Brother

The degree to which writers of the nineteenth century traveled, both in person and reputation, is a source of constant surprise. John Galsworthy, another writer who could not stay still, stands between the two. Galsworthy had been on a tour of Australia and New Zealand, according to biographer Catherine Dupre, he was a passionate admirer of Stevenson and intended to break his journey in the South Seas, where at Samoa he hoped to meet him. Among the minor casualties of the present lockdown is perambulation. Walking once a day is permitted as a form of exercise, but the second-hand bookshops that give purpose to the exercise are closed. Any time is a good time to win a literary prize, but of all such recent times this is surely the worst, with retail bookshops closed.