ROD AND LINE: ESSAYS, TOGETHER WITH AKSAKOV ON FISHING. By Arthur Ransome. 1929 first edition.

1929 1st edition. 8vo. (140mm x 210mm). Pp286 + ii pp ads. Frontispiece plate. Brown cloth, spine titled in gilt.

"In addition to his brilliant success as foreign correspondent in Russia and as author of the Swallows and Amazons series of books for children, Arthur Ransome (1884-1967) produced two irresistible fishing books. The first of these, Rod and Line (1929), a collection of pieces originally written for The Guardian newspaper, is probably the most delightful fisherman's bedside book ever produced. Arthur Ransome shared with Harry Plunket Greene a most appealing sense of humour, as well as a passion for fishing and fishing history. But unlike the author of Where the Bright Waters Meet, Ransome was no chalkstream man; he was from the North, lived for years in the Lake District, and did most of his fishing on local rivers and tarns. He confessed to being no more than an average performer with the rod, content to creel pike or perch and the odd eel when nothing finer was available. His skill as a writer, however, was of the first rank. No one has bettered Ransome's wonderful descriptions of fishing days, nor evoked with such art the characters of old anglers, fly-tyers and companions. For sheer enjoyment, Rod and Line takes the prize."