C.D. Warner, et al., comp.
The Library of the World’s Best Literature. An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
John Bunyan (1628–1688)
Bunyan, John. An English author; born in Elstow, Bedford, in Nov. 1628; died in London, Aug. 31, 1688. He was the son of a tinker, went to the village school, and at seventeen was drafted in the Parliamentary army and served during the decisive year of 1645. In 1653 he joined a little community sometimes described as a Baptist church, and preached in the villages near Bedford until imprisoned in the Bedford jail. Here he remained for twelve years, being only released after the Declaration of Indulgence in 1672. The ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ was begun in 1675, while the author was again for a short period in prison, and was issued in 1678, a second part appearing in 1684. His other important works are ‘Grace Abounding,’ written in prison, and the ‘Holy War’ (1682). Altogether he wrote nearly sixty books. (See Critical and Biographical Introduction).