Izaak Walton

Izaak Walton 1593-1683, English writer. He wrote one of the most famous books in the English language, The Compleat Angler; or, the Contemplative Man's Recreation. The first edition appeared in 1653, and it was reissued frequently with additional material; the last edition in Walton's lifetime appeared in 1676. The book not only describes the technique of angling, but draws a picture of peace and simple virtue that was Walton's protest against the civil wars taking place at the time. He also wrote several biographies, including ones of John Donne (1640), Sir Henry Wotton (1651), and George Herbert (1670), all of whom were his friends.

Bibliography: See study by D. Novarr (1958); J. R. Cooper, The Art of The Compleat Angler (1968).

Walton, Izaak (1593–1683), was a friend of Donne and Wotton and of bishops Morley, Sanderson, and King. His biographies of Donne (1640), Wotton (1651), Hooker (1665), G. Herbert (1670), and Sanderson (1678) are gentle and admiring in tone. He is chiefly known for The Compleat Angler, first published 1653, and largely re-written for the second edition (1655). (See also Cotton.)

Walton, Izaak (1593–1683). Biographer. Of Staffordshire yeoman stock and member of the Ironmongers' Company, this kindly Fleet Street tradesman is immortalized through the quiet charm of his Compleat Angler (1653). He was better known to contemporaries for his lives of Donne, Wootton, Hooker, Herbert, and Sanderson. Later commentators have emphasized subjectivity and irregularities, though admitting his good intentions.