In 1889, a starving, struggling writer published an article in London's MacMillan's Magazine that criticized the British about their dogs. Although the author was unnamed when the publication appeared, such a furor was created that it gave the writer fame and notoriety that he would successfully exploit the rest of his life and help him to become successful. Within a couple of years, the name W. H. Hudson became familiar to London's literary and scientific circles with his original essays on the natural history of La Plata in the Argentine and Patagonia to the south, especially his...