The Lives of Dr. John Donne, Sir Henry Wotton, Richard Hooker, and George Herbert – Izaak Walton (1825 Edition)
This 19th-century edition compiles Izaak Walton’s (1593–1683) revered biographical sketches of four towering figures of the English Renaissance and Reformation. Originally published separately (1640–1675), Walton’s Lives blends hagiography, personal anecdote, and moral reflection, offering intimate portraits of:
- John Donne – The metaphysical poet and dean of St. Paul’s, whose conversion and sermons Walton knew firsthand.
- Henry Wotton – Diplomat, scholar, and the man who defined an ambassador as “an honest man sent to lie abroad for the commonwealth.”
- Richard Hooker – Theologian of the “Via Media” (Anglican moderation), praised for his Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity.
- George Herbert – The pious poet of The Temple, whose rural priesthood Walton idealizes.
For Fans of Early Modern Biography:
- Aubrey’s Brief Lives – John Aubrey (1693) – Gossipy, vivid sketches of Hobbes, Shakespeare, and more.
- Samuel Johnson’s Lives of the Poets (1779) – Walton’s spiritual heir in critical biography.
- The Life of Thomas More – William Roper (1626) – Another intimate Tudor portrait by a son-in-law.
“Not saints’ tales, but studious men wrestling with faith and ink.”
