But yes: Walter was awesome. Why do the awesome die young?

Possibly because of the general time in which the book was written. I just read in a children's book about disease that tuberculosis was extremely popular with romantic-period artists--they seemed to think that it happened because of some artistic fire within and loved the wasted look and the blood-spotted hankerchief as symbols of artistic talent. Had some idea that the best life was one fully lived but snuffed out in youth. Of course, when they found out that TB came mostly from unsanitary living conditions, all that went down the tubes.

Er. Yes. Going away now.