John Bunyan

Born in 1628 near Bedford, John Bunyan was an English Nonconformist preacher and writer who came from a modest working background. He served in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil Wars, later became deeply involved in religious life, and joined a Baptist congregation in Bedford.

Bunyan is most famous for The Pilgrim's Progress (published in 1678, with a second part in 1684), a Christian allegory that became enormously influential and widely read for generations. He also wrote Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, a spiritual autobiography, and The Holy War, along with many other religious works shaped by his direct, vivid style.

A major turning point in his life was his imprisonment for unauthorized preaching after the Restoration. He spent years in jail, and that experience helped shape both his ministry and his writing. Bunyan died in 1688, but his books have remained central to devotional reading and to the history of English literature.