The Compleat Angler, by Izaak Walton (1653) (title page)

''The Compleat Angler'' (the spelling is sometimes modernised to ''The Complete Angler'', though this spelling also occurs in first editions) is a book by

Izaak Walton Izaak Walton (baptised 21 September 1593 – 15 December 1683) was an English writer. Best known as the author of ''The Compleat Angler'', he also wrote a number of short biographies including one of his friend John Donne. They have been colle ...

. It was first published in 1653 by Richard Marriot in London. Walton continued to add to it for a quarter of a century. It is a celebration of the art and spirit of fishing in prose and verse. River Lea Amwell

It was illustrated by

Arthur Rackham Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...

in 1931.

Background

Walton was born in

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in ...

and moved to London when he was in his teens in order to learn a trade. ''The Compleat Angler'' reflects the author's connections with these two locations, especially on the

River Dove, Central England The River Dove (, ) is the principal river of the southwestern Peak District, in the Midlands of England and is around in length. It rises on Axe Edge Moor near Buxton and flows generally south to its confluence with the River Trent at Newto ...

that forms the border between Staffordshire and Derbyshire in the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorl ...

. The book was dedicated to John Offley of Madeley, Staffordshire, and there are references in it to fishing in the English Midlands. However, the work begins with Londoners making a fishing trip up the

Lea Valley The Lea Valley, the valley of the River Lea, has been used as a transport corridor, a source of sand and gravel, an industrial area, a water supply for London, and a recreational area. The London 2012 Summer Olympics were based in Stratford, ...

in Hertfordshire, starting at

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Walthams ...

. Walton was not sympathetic to the Puritan regime of the 1650s and the work has been seen as a reaction to the turbulence of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...

and its aftermath; "the disorder of the present times received muted comment in the work's scenes of harmony", is the view of the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''.Martin, J. (2004-09-23). Walton, Izaak (1593–1683), author and biographer. ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Retrieved 9 Jun. 2018, from http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-28653. (Subscription or membership of a UK public library required) “Study to be Quiet” was one of Izaak Walton's favorite mottos.

Sources

Walton's sources included earlier publications on the subject of fishing, such as the ''Treatyse of Fysshynge with an Angle'' included in the ''

Book of Saint Albans ''The Book of Saint Albans'' (or ''Boke of Seynt Albans'') is the common title of a book printed in 1486 that is a compilation of matters relating to the interests of the time of a gentleman. It was the last of eight books printed by the St Alba ...

''. Six verses were quoted from

John Dennys John Dennys (died 1609), a poet and fisherman, pioneered Angling poetry in England. His only work '' The Secrets of Angling'' was the earliest English poetical treatise on fishing. John Dennys may have been an acquaintance of Shakespeare. Early ...

's 1613 work '' The Secrets of Angling''.

Editions

''The Compleat Angler'' was published by the bookseller Richard Marriot, whose business was based in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was n ...

near where Walton had a shop. Walton was a friend of Marriot's father John, who had started the business, but was in retirement by the time the book appeared. The first edition featured dialogue between veteran angler ''Piscator'' and student ''Viator'', while later editions change Viator to hunter ''Venator'' and added falconer ''Auceps''. There were a number of editions during the author's lifetime. There was a second edition in 1655, a third in 1661 (identical with that of 1664), a fourth in 1668, and a fifth in 1676. In this last edition, the thirteen chapters of the original had grown to twenty-one, and a second part was added by his friend and brother angler

Charles Cotton Charles Cotton (28 April 1630 – 16 February 1687) was an English poet and writer, best known for translating the work of Michel de Montaigne from the French, for his contributions to '' The Compleat Angler'', and for the influential '' The C ...

, who took up Venator where Walton had left him and completed his instruction in

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diff ...

and the making of

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

.Chisholm, 1911.

Illustrations

Starting with the first edition, which had anonymous illustrations, the work has inspired artists, for example

(1931).

References

Sources

* (subscription or member of UK public library required) *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Compleat Angler, The 1653 books Angling literature Works about fishing Books illustrated by Arthur Rackham