Rigby's Encyclopaedia of the Herring

‘Everything you needed to know, and a few things you possibly never needed to know, about the world’s most encyclopaedic fish.’

‘All there is to know of the herring, the fortunes of the silver darlings, great and small. Bravo Mr Rigby.’

‘Just like the small but power-packed herring, these encyclopaedic pages are stuffed with a dream-like fishy sufficiency to satisfy the neediest herring aficionado’s appetite; “only nibbling at the edge of the shoal”, doubtful! I’d say. From now on, my world of herrin’ology will never be the same again.’

‘It is not inverse snobbery that causes me to prefer herring to salmon. It is, quite simply, a matter of taste. Which is just one of this creature’s manifold properties: for the rest, get reading.’

‘An incredible insight to hidden histories surrounding the herring trade, Graeme Rigby reminds us why this little sliver darling is so important to understanding the past, the present and learning for the future. Absolutely lush!’

‘Graeme Rigby has done for the herring what Pliny the Elder did for everything else. Erudite, eccentric, and unexpectedly moving, this encyclopaedia rescues the herring from obscurity and repositions it—gleaming, iridescent, and gloriously pungent–at the very centre of history. A shimmering feast of facts and fables, with a glint in its eye and a whiff of brine in its wake.’

‘Rigby’s is a treasure trove of all things herring– brimming with dazzling facts, deep history, and irresistible oddities. Dive in and prepare to fall head over heels for the silver stars of the sea.’

 ’An original, poignant excavation of one of history’s most misunderstood fish. Layering deep scholarship with mischievous wit, Rigby builds a kaleidoscopic monument to the herring’s place in science, culture, war, art, and memory. This is not just a book about a fish—it’s a brilliant meditation on curiosity, storytelling, and the shimmering drift of history itself.’

Graeme Rigby’s encyclopaedia grew out of a BBC Radio 4 series on preserved fish, Rigby’s Red Herrings, and the blogs and podcasts website herripedia.com. Part of Amber Film Photography Collective for nearly twenty years, his allotment documentary book Peaceable Kingdoms was a collaboration with photographer Peter Fryer.