The Landloper: The Romance of a Man on Foot

About the book

Walker Farr travels on foot with little luggage and no eagerness to explain himself. His confidence unsettles people who judge his worn clothes before hearing him speak, and an encounter with wealthy motorists establishes the contrast between social position and practical worth. In an industrial community, however, the freedom to keep walking becomes harder to defend. Friendships among mill workers and concern for a child bring Farr close to the human consequences of a water system protected by political influence. Holman Day connects romance and concealed identity to a public struggle over money, health, and responsibility. The road initially allows Farr to evade fixed expectations; the suffering he encounters asks whether independence is enough when other people cannot escape the institutions that govern their lives.

• Independence and responsibility
• Political corruption
• Class and public health

Why read it

The shift from road adventure to the water-supply conflict gives Farr's freedom a concrete moral test.

English text with the 1915 date