IN Usk, the name Alfred Russel Wallace has virtually been forgotten. The inhabitants of this small town in Monmouthshire in South Wales shake their heads or shrug their shoulders when asked about Wallace, the Llanbadoc Monument or Kensington Cottage where Wallace once lived.

“But wasn’t he born here?” Tempo asked a hotel receptionist. The receptionist thought back as hard as he could before being obliged to shrug his shoulders. He apologiz