SOURCE: Stanwood, P. G. “Walton's Fame and Influence.”In Izaak Walton pp. 78-101. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1998.

In the excerpt below, Stanwood offers an overview of critical scholarship on Walton since 1640 and discusses the reasons for enduring critical interest in Walton's works.

Except for the period from 1676 to 1750, Walton's works have always been in print. Sometimes the Lives were especially renowned, sometimes The Compleat Angler was preeminent. But the unassuming linen draper's reputation has remained constant in a surprising way, and his works have been influential as well as generally fashionable. His readers have included notable writers, illustrators, and churchmen, and a review of this widespread esteem provides a fascinating study of the unfolding history of Walton's work. This chapter will attempt to trace his reputation through the observations made by writers and critics in the years since the first publication of the Life of Donne, in 1640. Writing...