7 h 21 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a walk beside the river could teach you as much about living as about catching fish?
In The Compleat Angler, Izaak Walton turns a country walk into a friendly conversation about fishing and the quiet life. Piscator, an older angler who knows the rivers, shares his knowledge with Venator. His aim reaches beyond the next catch: he wants to show why patience and small pleasures matter.
Along the water, practical advice sits beside songs, recipes and country talk. Walton explores the habits of freshwater fish, the choice of bait and tackle, and the attention that angling asks of you. The pleasure lies in both the fishing and the company, with room to pause and look around.
What you’ll discover
- A thoughtful riverside teacher Follow Piscator as he makes the case for angling as a patient, thoughtful art.
- The lives beneath water Meet trout, pike, carp, perch and eels through their habitats, food and habits.
- The craft of angling Explore how rods, lines, hooks and bait suit different fish and conditions.
- Songs and good company Enjoy old songs, recipes and conversation that give this fishing book its companionable warmth.
- Room for small pleasures Consider a calmer way of living through patience, close attention and love of the countryside.
Who will love it
For readers who love friendly prose, nature writing, English country life or the history of sport and food. It also suits anyone drawn to songs, good company and the small pleasures of a quiet life.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A teacher and a willing pupil
- Angling is a patient and thoughtful art
- Know the fish before you chase them
- Tackle, bait and weather matter
- Songs, inns and good company
- A quiet life that has lasted and been questioned
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- Audiobook
- 7 h 21 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Le parfait pêcheur à la ligne
by Izaak Walton · 1653
Beside the river, Piscator teaches Venator to catch fish and find joy in friendship and small pleasures.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Compleat Angler is a book about fishing, written as a conversation on a country walk. Izaak Walton, a London tradesman and devoted angler, first published it in 1653, in the uneasy years after the English Civil War.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A teacher and a willing pupil
The book is built as a dialogue. Its main speaker is Piscator, the Latin word for fisherman, an older angler who knows the rivers and loves to talk. His listener is Venator, whose name means hunter. At the start of the book the two meet other travellers on the road, among them Auceps, a falconer, and the three men fall into a friendly contest over which sport is best.
Each man praises his own pastime. The falconer speaks for the air and for his birds, and the huntsman speaks for the chase and his dogs. Piscator answers for the water, and he does it with good humour rather than heat. He does not abuse the other sports. He simply argues that his own is the most peaceful and the one that best suits a thoughtful mind.
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What is The Compleat Angler about?
It is a conversation about fishing between an experienced angler, Piscator, and a newcomer, Venator. It covers fish, tackle and bait, and country songs and meals, while praising patience, friendship and a peaceful life.
Who are Piscator and Venator?
Piscator is the older angler who teaches. His name means fisherman in Latin. Venator, meaning hunter, is the pupil who starts as a lover of hunting and gradually becomes a keen learner of angling.
When was The Compleat Angler written?
Izaak Walton first published it in 1653 and revised it in later editions. The fifth edition, in 1676, added a section on fly fishing by his friend Charles Cotton.
The author
Izaak Walton
1593–1683 · English author and biographer
Izaak Walton was an English author and biographer born in Stafford in 1593. He lived in London and later in Winchester, where he died in 1683. He published The Compleat Angler in 1653. He also wrote biographies of John Donne, Henry Wotton, Richard Hooker, George Herbert, and Robert Sanderson.
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