SOURCE: Novarr, David. “The ‘Almost Incredible Story’ of George Herbert,” in The Making of Walton's Lives, pp. 301-61. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1958.

In the following excerpt, Novarr develops the thesis that due to timing and subject matter, Walton was free to express his beliefs on religion to their fullest in The Life of Herbert.

The Life of Herbert, perhaps even more than the Life of Donne, was a labor of love. The Life of Hooker was in many ways Walton's most arduous biographical task; the Life of Herbert conformed most closely to the desires of his heart. It appeared early in 1670, and, like the Life of Hooker, it was published independently. Within two months and without textual changes by Walton, it was printed a second time in the collected Lives.¹

Its appearance was the culmination of Walton's long interest in Herbert. He had quoted from Herbert's...