John Bunyan

John Bunyan (1628-88), English writer and Puritan minister, author of The Pilgrim's Progress, one of the most famous religious allegories in the English language.

Bunyan was born in November 1628 at Elstow, near Bedford, the son of a tinker. He served an apprenticeship at his father's trade, and at about the age of 17, during the civil war, fought in the Parliamentary army. About 1648 he married Margaret Bentley, a member of one of the Puritan sects of the day; Bunyan experienced a religious conversion and joined her church.

In 1655 Bunyan became one of the leaders of a congregation of Nonconformists in Bedford, giving sermons as a lay preacher. After his wife died, Bunyan remarried and became a popular preacher, speaking to large audiences. However, after the restoration of Charles II in 1660, Puritans lost the privilege of freedom of worship, and it was declared illegal to conduct divine service except in accordance with the forms of the Church of England. Bunyan, who persisted in his unlicensed preaching, was confined to Bedford county jail from 1660 to 1672, although during a part of this time he was allowed a degree of freedom and was able to support his family by making shoelaces.

While Bunyan was in prison his library consisted of the Bible and the Book of Martyrs by the theologian John Foxe. Studying the content and literary style of these works, Bunyan began to write religious tracts and pamphlets. Before his release he wrote the first of his major works, the spiritual autobiography Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666).

In 1675 Bunyan was imprisoned for six months, and during that time he probably wrote the major part of his masterpiece, The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come, a prose allegory of the pilgrimage of a soul in search of salvation (1st part published 1678; 2nd part, 1684). Ten editions of this great work were printed during Bunyan's lifetime, and it eventually became the most widely read book in English after the Bible. It exerted great influence on later English writers. Noted for its simple, biblical style, The Pilgrim's Progress is now generally considered one of the finest allegories in English literature, and it has been translated into many languages.

During his last years Bunyan was universally recognized as the leading Puritan clergyman and author. He died of pneumonia on August 31, 1688, in London. His other writings include The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680), a description of the life of a reprobate, and The Holy War (1682), a religious and political allegory.