Which novel is being described here? A reclusive and unworldly Scandinavian, the self-doubting son of a domineering father who was a writer, is content to live a life of obscurity on his remote island. But his sanctuary on the margins of civilization is invaded by a piratical gang led by a gentlemanly villain, bent on getting their hands on what they believe is a great treasure in his possession. There ensues a desperate struggle, reaching a bloody conclusion in which the invaders are finally destroyed by the defence mounted by the islander and those who are pledged to help him.

Admirers of Joseph Conrad will have no trouble recognizing this as the story told in his novel Victory, completed just before the outbreak of the First World War and published in 1915. Enthusiasts for the work of John Buchan, meanwhile, will find this account equally familiar, pointing out that it summarizes the main plot of Buchan's novel The Island of Sheep, a book published in 1936, a dozen years after Conrad's death. The congruence of these two novels, hitherto unremarked as far as I know, is the starting point for this investigation. It is the scene of the crime, if you will, though it is not clear just what crime – or whether any crime – has actually been committed.

There is clearly a prima facie case for bringing a charge of theft against Buchan. Yet in many respects The Island of Sheep could hardly be further removed from Conrad's Victory. The story of Victory unfolds in Eastern waters, and it plays to its climax on Samburan, the ‘Round Island’, apparently between Java and south-eastern Borneo, where the Swede Axel Heyst has taken refuge from a disappointing world. There he brings the bedraggled Lena, whom he has chivalrously rescued, and when the island is invaded by the villainous Mr Jones and his two henchmen, it is Lena who brings about their defeat, though at the cost of her own life.