author
Izaak Walton
1593–1683
Best known for The Compleat Angler, this 17th-century English writer turned a practical pastime into a warmly reflective classic. He also helped shape early literary biography through lively memorial sketches of friends such as John Donne and George Herbert.
4 Audiobooks
The Complete Angler 1653
by Izaak Walton
The Compleat Angler
by Izaak Walton
Waltoniana: Inedited Remains in Verse and Prose of Izaak Walton
by Izaak Walton
About the author
Born in Stafford in 1593 and later established in London, he worked as a tradesman before becoming celebrated as a writer. His most famous book, The Compleat Angler (first published in 1653), mixes fishing advice with conversation, nature writing, and a deep pleasure in ordinary country life.
He was also an important early biographer. Alongside his angling classic, he wrote short lives of figures including John Donne, George Herbert, and Richard Hooker, giving later readers vivid portraits of major religious and literary voices of his time.
His work has lasted because it feels both gentle and companionable: practical on the surface, but full of affection for friendship, quiet observation, and the natural world. He died in 1683, leaving behind one of the most frequently reprinted books in English literature.