The Compleat Angler
A Graphic Adaptation
Published on 19. June 2025
Book
Hardback
160 pages
978-1-914224-27-0 (ISBN)
Description
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' 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' 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.
From the ruins of the English Civil War to the challenges we all face today, Gareth Brookes' 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' 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.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
Full Colour Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 208 mm
Width: 149 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
412 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-914224-27-0 (9781914224270)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Complete work / Part of the work
Persons
Gareth Brookes studied printmaking at the Royal College of Art. His graphic novels include A Thousand Coloured Castles (2017) and The Black Project, which was nominated for an award at the Angouleme International Comics Festival, 2018. His work has appeared in ArtReview, been published by Kus, and was included in the "Comics Unmasked" exhibition at the British Library in 2014. His last graphic novel, The Dancing Plague (SelfMadeHero, 2021) was hailed by The New York Times as "Visually stunning": "With fire and needle, Brookes crafts a book the likes of which we've never seen before."
Izaak Walton (1593-1683) was an English writer, best remembered today as the author of The Compleat Angler (1653). He also wrote a number of short Lives, including the first biographies of the poets George Herbert and John Donne.
Izaak Walton (1593-1683) was an English writer, best remembered today as the author of The Compleat Angler (1653). He also wrote a number of short Lives, including the first biographies of the poets George Herbert and John Donne.