Izaak Walton

Izaak Walton counted among his friends such celebrated intellectuals of the English Renaissance as Michael Drayton, Ben Jonson, John Donne, and Sir Henry Wotton. He is the author of The Compleat Angler, one of the finest examples of the pastoral in the English language and a book that has almost never been out of print since it was first published in 1623. He is also England's first important biographer, whose style set the standard for this genre. P. G.

Stanwood in his thoughtful account of Walton's life and work traces how this linen draper from an undistinguished family with minimal formal education rose to prominence in London's literary society and explores the qualities in his work that have contributed to its remarkably enduring popularity.