Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

With an Introduction by Professor Stuart Sim.

John Bunyan was variously a tinker, soldier, Baptist minister, prisoner and writer of outstanding narrative genius which reached its apotheosis in this, his greatest work. It is an allegory of the Christian life of true brilliance and is presented as a dream which describes the pilgrimage of the hero - Christian - from the City of Destruction via the Slough of Despond, the Hill of Difficulty, the Valley of the Shadow of Death and Vanity Fair over the River of the Water of Life and into the Celestial City.

The Pilgrim's Progress has been translated into 108 languages, was a favourite of Dr Johnson and was praised by Coleridge as one of the few books which might be read repeatedly and each time with a new and different pleasure.

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

From David Hawkes's Introduction to The Pilgrim's Progress To understand fully The Pilgrim's Progress , we must remember that it was written in prison. Imprisonment is its major theme, and escape from prison is its primary purpose. Although Bunyan was without a doubt incarcerated in the literal, physical sense while he composed his work, he did not believe that he was truly in jail. He was convinced that, as Richard Lovelace had written in "To Althea, from Prison" (1642), "Stone walls do not a prison make, / Nor iron bars a cage," and Bunyan echoed the sentiment in his own "Prison Meditations" (1665; quoted from The Works of John Bunyan , edited by George Offor, vol. 1, p. 64; see "For Further Reading"): I am, indeed, in prison now In body, but my mind Is free to study Christ, and how Unto me he is kind. For though men keep my outward man Within their locks and bars, Yet by the faith of Christ I can Mount higher than the stars. As far as Bunyan was concerned, the real prisoners were outside the walls, in the world. The Pilgrim's Progress aims to establish two deeply counterintuitive propositions: that its author is not in jail, and that its readers are. But while Bunyan argues that the world is the prison of the soul, he also offers us a way to escape from the world. The book's subtitle, From This World to That Which Is to Come , indicates our ultimate destination, but the world "to come" is to be reached by a way not measurable in space or time. The pilgrim's progress is not a literal journey along a physical road, but an exercise in semiotics: a reinterpretation of the world. As Stanley Fish puts it, Bunyan's work teaches us that "the truth about the world is not to be found within its own confines or configurations, but from the vantage point of a perspective that transforms it" ( Self-consuming Artifacts , p. 237). In the course of his journey the hero, named Christian, learns to understand the world as an allegory. He comes to perceive his experience as a series of signs that point toward nonmaterial, spiritual referents, and this constitutes his liberation. But before he can escape from prison, he must become aware that he is in one. The progress toward an allegorical interpretation of reality is simultaneously a process of alienation from the mundane world of experience. The Pilgrim's Progress shows us a man who becomes a stranger to the world, to the extent of rejecting empirical sense perception, as well as the laws, morality, and behavioral standards of society. The first lesson Christian learns after his conversion is that "Mr. Worldly Wiseman is an alien." Allegory has often been described as a suitable mode to represent the alienated, objectified character of worldly experience. This line of reasoning originates with Walter Benjamin's seminal analysis of the genre in The Origin of German Tragic Drama (1928). Benjamin argues that allegory's purpose is to teach us that the experiential world--the "carnal" or "fleshly" dimension, in Bunyan's terms--is fallen into a disharmonious relation with its Creator: "Allegory itself was sown by Christianity. For it was absolutely decisive for this mode of thought that not only transitoriness, but also guilt should seem evidently to have its home in the province of idols and of the flesh" (p. 224). Plato had argued that, because the material world is transitory, it is also illusory, and to take empirical appearances for reality thus constitutes a philosophical error. But Christianity introduced an ethical dimension to this argument. From the Christian perspective, taking appearances for reality is not only erroneous, but also sinful, and in The Pilgrim's Progress , understanding this fact is the first step on the way to redemption. This is a paradoxical operation, however, for the process of understanding that creation is alienated from the Creator simultaneously involves the recognition of another, spiritual, realm to which the carnal world points the way. Excerpted from The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

In this classic work of allegorical fiction, Christian, a man-or possibly Everyman-battles his way to heaven. The path is strenuous, strewn with both mental temptations and physical struggles. Later, his wife and children follow a similar, although slightly gentler, path. As in Dante's earlier and better known Divine Comedy, the road to heaven described here is both physical and mental, even though Bunyan's Protestant path and language are far more austere than those found in Dante's lush, Catholic work. David Shaw-Parker gives a wonderfully expressive reading of a text that is somewhat complex and archaic to the modern ear. verdict Recommended for individuals with a strong interest in important, pre-19th-century literary classics, allegories, or epics.-I. Pour-El, Ames Jewish Congregation, IA (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

This is a retelling, not an abridgement, geared for older children and young adults who want to know Bunyan's story but who might well find the language of the original incomprehensible, even in the Godolphin abridgement. The allegorical quest for faith--avoiding the Slough of Despond, escaping the temptations of Vanity Fair, and fending off the giant Despair--still makes a good story. Poet Reeves' changes are mostly cuts of long discussions, but he has also done some simplifying as well as rewriting to add imagery. For example, Evangelist's warning that Worldly-Wiseman is of a ""carnal temper"" becomes ""According to them, you only have to follow a few easy rules, and you can stuff your belly with roast meat and sleep on a feather mattress. . ."" The black-and-white full-page drawings are in a woodcut-like style with a rustic stiffness that fits the story. It is unfortunate, though, that Bunyan does not get onto the title-page. Overall, this should not replace the lovely Lawson/Godolphin illustrated abridged version, but it is a respectful retelling of the Puritan classic that has been beloved by many generations of children. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

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)