One of the most beloved figures of English literature is Izaak Walton, author of The Compleat Angler, or the Contemplative Man’s Recreation, first published in 1653. He is also the author of biographies of John Donne and the saintly George Herbert, among others. As the title suggests, Walton’s immortal book is not only a manual on how to fish but also an expression of delight in the natural good things that God has given.
Walton loves everything connected with the country and its rivers and streams, including the unaffected country people and the good food, drink and companionship of snug country inns. Izaak Walton lived in London near Chancery Lane for a time, and was acquainted with the poet Ben Jonson and also was a close friend of John Donne. He was on the vestry board of St Dunstan’sin- the-West, a fact noted by a plaque near the entrance of that church. He was married to the sister of Bishop Ken, the hymn writer. In the early seventeenth century the countryside was still hard by the walls of London, and Walton used to fish in the River Lea which ran through the fields near present day Tottenham Court Road.