Books by Izaak Walton

Complete English Poems, The (Herbert, George) (Penguin Classics)

by George Herbert, Izaak Walton

Text: English, Latin (translation)
Original Language: Latin

The Compleat Angler (Oxford World's Classics)

by Izaak Walton, Charles Cotton

'I envy no body but him, and him only, that catches more fish than I do.'

A unique celebration of the English countryside and the most famous book on angling ever published, Walton's Compleat Angler first appeared in 1653. In 1676, at Walton's invitation, his friend Charles Cotton contributed his pioneering exploration of fly-fishing. The book is both a manual of instruction and a vision of society in harmony with nature. It guides the novice fisherman on how to catch and cook a variety of fish, on how to select and prepare the best bait and make artificial flies, and on the habits of freshwater fish. It also promotes angling as a communal activity in which the bonds of friendship are forged through shared experience of the natural world.

Anecdotes, poetry, music, and song intersperse the rural descriptions, which promote conservation as well as sport. This new edition highlights the book's continuing relevance to our relationship with the environment, and explores the turbulent history from which it came.

ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

The Compleat Angler (Oxford World's Classics)

by Izaak Walton, Charles Cotton

The greatest classic of angling literature and a unique celebration of the English countryside, Izaak Walton's IThe Compleat AnglerR was originally published in 1653 and first appeared with Charles Cotton's continuation in 1676. No book, apart from the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, has been more often reprinted.
As a treatise on the art of fishing it has never wholly been superseded. For its advice on the catching and cooking of fish, the rules for baits, and the making of artificial flies, it remains a valuable and engrossing guide. As a graceful and affectionate portrait of rural England its charm is irresistible and in Walton and Cotton we could not wish for more congenial companions.
This illustrated edition, with an Introduction by the novelist John Buchan, has been expanded and revised by John Buxton.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

The Compleat Angler: or, The Contemplative Man's Recreation (Modern Library Classics)

by Izaak Walton, Charles Cotton

An immediate success when if was first published in 1653, Walton's classic celebrtion of the joys of fishing continues to captivate anglers and nature lovers with its timeless advice and instruction. Originally cast in the form of a dialogue between an experienced angler named Piscator and his pupil Viator, the book details methods for catching, eating, and savoring all varieties of fish, from the common chub to the lordly salmon. More than an engaging guide to the subtle intricacies of the sport, Walton's reflective treatise is a graceful portrait of rural England that extols the pleasures of country life.

'The Compleat Angler is not about how to fish but about how to be,' said novelist Thomas McGuane. '[Walton] spoke of an amiable mortality and rightness on the earth that has been envied by his readers for three hundred years.'

Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions and Death's Duel

by John Donne, Izaak Walton, Andrew Motion

John Donne (1572-1631) is best known as the greatest English metaphysical poet. But there was another dimension to Donne's life and writing that, if less well known, is no less profound and beautiful.

Born into an aristocratic Catholic family, Donne joined the Church of England at the age of twenty-one out of fear of persecution. At the age of forty-three, he gave up his preoccupations with secular prestige and devoted himself utterly to religion. It was eight years later when, battered with fever, the deaths of his beloved wife, several of his children, and many dear lifelong friends, he composed Devotions upon Emergent Occasions. There is both trauma and great drama in this extended meditation on the meaning of mortality, the possibility of salvation, and the true nature of the passage of eternal life. With a new introduction by poet and biographer Andrew Motion, one of the most revered books of Christian devotion speaks to us again of the higher aspirations of man and the always-present possibility of a relationship with God.

This long out of print edition also contains Donne's last sermon, "Death's Duel" as well as the short colorful biography of him written by his contemporary Izaak Walton.

The Compleat Angler A Graphic Adaptation

by Izaak Walton, Gareth Brookes

An ambitious multimedia adaptation of a well-known and much-beloved classic of 17th-century literature, fit for lovers of art, nature, and the philosophy of fishing

A foundational environmentalist text centuries ahead of its time, The Compleat Angler is one of the most reprinted books in the English language. From the ruins of the English Civil War to the challenges we all face today, Gareth Brookes's highly original multimedia adaptation of Izaak Walton's classic focuses on its instructional aspects, highlights its eccentricities and contemplative themes of nature and friendship, and draws parallels between today's politically divided and ecologically endangered England and that of the 17th century.

Following Brookes's similarly ambitious The Dancing Plague, this adaptation is lovingly rendered in both linocut engraving and hand-drawn pen-and-ink to contrast the meditative and the instructional in Walton's writing. As a guidebook on how to fish, this 350-year-old manual makes the perfect gift for any angling enthusiast, and its reflective writing connects with post-pandemic desires for calm, mindful pursuits and a return to nature.