HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.
MembersReviewsPopularityRatingFavorited   Events   
30,987 (31,750)234629 (3.79)30
John Bunyan was born in Elstow, Bedfordshire, England, in 1628. He learned to read and write at the village school and was prepared to follow his father's trade as a brazier when the English Civil War broke out in 1644 and he was drafted into the Parliamentary army. His military service brought him into contact with Oliver Cromwell's Puritan troops. Beginning in 1648, Bunyan suffered a crisis in religious faith that lasted for several years. He turned to the Nonconformist church in Bedford to sustain him during this period. His first writings were attacks against the Quakers. Then Charles II was restored to the throne and Bunyan was arrested for conducting services not in accordance with the Church of England. He spent 12 years in jail. During this time, he wrote his autobiography, Grace Abounding, in which he described his spiritual struggle and growth. During his last years in prison, Bunyan began his most famous work, The Pilgrim's Progress, a two-part allegorical tale of the character Christian and his journey to salvation. Part I was published in 1678 and Part II in 1684. The second part deals with the spiritual journey of Christian's wife and sons, as they follow in his footsteps. With its elements of the folktale tradition, The Pilgrim's Progress became popular immediately. Well into the nineteenth century it was a book known to almost every reader in England and New England, second in importance only to the Bible. So great was the book's influence that it even plays a major role in Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott. Such expressions as "the slough of despond" and "vanity fair" have become part of the English language. Bunyan's other works include The Life and Death of Mr. Badman and The Holy War. He also wrote A Book for Boys and Girls, verses on religious faith for children. Bunyan died in London on August 31, 1688. (Bowker Author Biography) — biography from The Pilgrim's Progress… (more)
The Pilgrim's Progress 18,139 copies, 158 reviews
Prayer 727 copies, 2 reviews
The Fear of God 282 copies
Pictorial Pilgrims Progress 270 copies, 1 review
Visions of Heaven and Hell 104 copies, 1 review
Journey to Hell 98 copies, 2 reviews
The life and death of Mr Badman 75 copies, 2 reviews
The Pilgrim's Progress 65 copies, 1 review
The barren fig-tree 54 copies, 2 reviews
Saved by Grace 50 copies
The Strait Gate 26 copies, 1 review
Continuation of Bunyan's Life 17 copies, 1 review
Pilgrim's Progress 15 copies, 2 reviews
The Struggler 9 copies
La Peregrina 7 copies
Family Duty 5 copies
Resurrection 4 copies
天路歷程(上) 3 copies, 1 review
El Progreso Peregrino 2 copies, 1 review
Bunyan's Awakening Works 2 copies, 1 review
走天路 1 copy
Milost přehojná 1 copy, 1 review
Oração 1 copy
LE VOYAGE DU PELERIN 1 copy, 1 review

Top members (books)

Member favorites

17th century (321) allegory (824) anthology (81) autobiography (86) biography (221) British (80) British literature (131) Bunyan (212) Christian (556) Christian allegory (74) Christian Classics (149) Christian fiction (351) Christian living (621) Christianity (604) classic (510) classic literature (73) classics (651) Devotional (61) ebook (65) English (83) English literature (187) fiction (1,841) Harvard Classics (78) John Bunyan (234) Kindle (200) literature (607) Logos (367) non-fiction (119) novel (184) poetry (107) prayer (119) Puritan (322) Puritan Paperbacks (86) Puritans (398) read (107) religion (672) spirituality (118) Theology (402) to-read (503) unread (94)
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical name
Legal name
Other names
Date of birth
Date of death
Burial location
Gender
Nationality
Country (for map)
Birthplace
Place of death
Cause of death
Places of residence
Education
Occupations
Relationships
Agents
Organizations
Awards and honors
Short biography
John Bunyan served in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War. As a Puritan, he struggled with issues of faith and sin, and at times he experienced extreme depression. He had little formal education but read voraciously and became a famous preacher, for which he was arrested. It was during his imprisonment that he began writing The Pilgrim's Progress, one of the most important works in English literature.
John Bunyan (November 30, 1628 – August 31, 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory The Pilgrim's Progress. In addition to The Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyan wrote nearly sixty titles, many of them expanded sermons.

Bunyan came from the village of Elstow, near Bedford. He had some schooling and at the age of sixteen joined the Parliamentary Army during the first stage of the English Civil War. After three years in the army he returned to Elstow and took up the trade of tinker, which he had learned from his father. He became interested in religion after his marriage, attending first the parish church and then joining the Bedford Meeting, a nonconformist group in Bedford, and becoming a preacher. After the restoration of the monarch, when the freedom of nonconformists was curtailed, Bunyan was arrested and spent the next twelve years in jail as he refused to give up preaching. During this time he wrote a spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, and began work on his most famous book, The Pilgrim's Progress, which was not published until some years after his release.

Bunyan's later years, in spite of another shorter term of imprisonment, were spent in relative comfort as a popular author and preacher, and pastor of the Bedford Meeting. He died aged 59 after falling ill on a journey to London and is buried in Bunhill Fields. The Pilgrim's Progress became one of the most published books in the English language; 1,300 editions having been printed by 1938, 250 years after the author's death.

He is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on 30 August, and on the liturgical calendar of the United States Episcopal Church on 29 August. Some other churches of the Anglican Communion, such as the Anglican Church of Australia, honour him on the day of his death (31 August).
Disambiguation notice

Member ratings

Average: (3.79)
0.5 5
1 67
1.5 9
2 158
2.5 28
3 368
3.5 69
4 451
4.5 58
5 591

Author pictures (4)

 

(see all 4 author pictures)

Improve this author

Combine/separate works

Author division

John Bunyan is currently considered a "single author." If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author.

Includes

John Bunyan is composed of 10 names. You can examine and separate out names.

Combine with…

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 195,116,347 books! | Top bar: Always visible