The Pilgrim's Progress in Today's English

by John Bunyan, James H. Thomas

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The best allegory ever written is rewritten in modern English, making it clearer and more forceful to the modern reader. With more than 100,000 in print, this retelling by James H. Thomas followsChristian as he leaves his home in the City of Destruction and begins a long journey to the Celestial City. His adventure is full of encounters with interesting people, such as Faithful, Hopeful, and Ignorance. Traveling through places such as Vanity Fair and the Valley of the Shadow of Death, he show more reaches his heavenly home but learns rich lessons during the journey. The story has immediate application to everyday life. Later on, Christian's wife, Christiana, decides to join her husband in the Celestial City. As she travels, Christiana comes upon a different set of people, such Greatheart, Mercy, Honesty. Her story illustrates how Christians follow different paths but with the same destination: eternity with Jesus.  show less

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jordantaylor These books are remarkably similar, and I believe that both were written around the same time. Though "Splendid Way" is obscure while "Progress" is wildly popular, I consider both books equally well written.

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6 reviews
A good retelling of a great work for kids. It’s vivid and straight-forward. Gives reader a clear analogy to attach to virtues and vices that are good to spark discussion with early readers. Almost assuredly will produce kids who are Gnostic Pelagians, but that’s par for the course for American Christians, so how bad can that be? The two elements most missing are of being called into this world, not out of it and love. Christian’s dismissal of his family and other pilgrims on the road does nothing but reinforce the idea that piety is more important than love of neighbor.
It's a nice story, it feels a bit too old school but I'm glad I read it. I prefer the first part over the second part and if I were to re-read it (not an impossibility) I'd probably only read the first part.

I don't exactly understand how Beulah Land is supposed to work. It's supposed to be a temporary place until you're called for Heaven but it implies there's no problems there, so isn't Beulah Land essentially Heaven? Wouldn't it make more sense to have a sense of living amongst the sinners or having missions to convert them rather than living in pre-Heaven? I know it's a story but I don't think this aspect really captures the late game of Christianity. It does a great job at describing the early and mid game of Christianity but falls show more short at the late game, perhaps because the author hadn't reached the late game?

This was also my first Christian book I think and it was enjoyable enough. I'm not sure how many more Christian books I'd read as I have plenty of history books I'd love to read and one should be strategic about what you are reading.
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This retelling follows Christian as he leaves his home in the City of Destruction and begins a long journey to the Celestial City. His adventure is full of encounters with interesting people, such as Faithful, Hopeful, and Ignorance. Traveling through places such as Vanity Fair and the Valley of the Shadow of Death, he reaches his heavenly home but learns rich lessons during the journey. The story has immediate application to everyday life.

Later on, Christian's wife, Christiana, decides to join her husband in the Celestial City. As she travels, Christiana comes upon a different set of people, such as Greatheart, Mercy, and Honesty. Her story illustrates how Christians follow different paths but with the same destination: eternity with show more Jesus. show less
In this allegorical adventure share the adventures and perils of Christian as he sets out on the journey of his life. On the road he meets terrifying monsters, horrible giants, a cruel judge, raging lions and scary dark places. But he also makes good friends and, at last, reaches his journey's end - the Celestial City.

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Author Information

Picture of author.
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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 show more 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) show less
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Some Editions

Cadel, John M. (Illustrator)

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
The Pilgrim's Progress in Today's English
Blurbers
Lee, Robert G.
Disambiguation notice
Abridged adaptation.
Please do not combine with the original, unabridged, work.

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, Christian Fiction
DDC/MDS
823.4Literature & rhetoricEnglish & Old English literaturesEnglish fiction1625-1702
LCC
PR3330 .A33 .T5Language and LiteratureEnglishEnglish Literature17th and 18th centuries (1640-1770)
BISAC

Statistics

Members
1,079
Popularity
23,681
Reviews
5
Rating
(3.91)
Languages
English
Media
Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
ISBNs
5
ASINs
9