John Bunyan - a brief biography by Michelle Buckman

John Bunyan (1628–1688), an English writer and Puritan preacher, is best remembered for "The Pilgrim's Progress" (1678), which became one of the most published books in the English language.

Bunyan came from the village of Elstow, near Bedford.  After 3 years in the army he returned to Elstow and took up the trade of tinker.  He was converted to Christ after his marriage through 2 books that his wife had inherited from her father and he soon became a gifted and powerful preacher of the gospel among the nonconformist churches. He was arrested when the freedom of nonconformists was curtailed by the king, and spent the next 12 years in prison because he refused to give up preaching. 

During the time in prison 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 published 6 years after his release.  It was immediately very popular and within 4 years of his death had sold over 100,000 copies in England alone.

(Recorded 22 January 2017)