It was the best of blip, it was the worst of blips

In 1862, Charles Dickens was offered a large sum of money to do a reading tour of Australia. He was enthusiastic, and even planned a travel book, The Unconnected Traveller Upside Down. The tour didn't go ahead, but two of his sons did later emigrate to that country.
(In anticipation, a large number of his books had been printed, but the printers surprisingly misunderstood the request.)

Many thanks to ApolloFly for hosting.