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The Pilgrim's Progress, a story (1678, 1684) by the English writer John Bunyan. An allegorical account of religious conversion, it describes the journey of a man called Christian from the City of Destruction (the contemporary, corrupt world) to the Celestial City (a state of religious grace). Much of its lasting popularity can be attributed to the author's skill in rendering complex abstract issues immediate, entertaining, and accessible. It is the source of three well-known expressions in use today: muckraker (an investigative journalist seeking sensational stories), slough of despond (a state of profoundly deep depression), and vanity fair (a place or situation of ostentatious empty pride).
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