1628-1688. English author. A Baptist, he was
imprisoned in Bedford 1660-72 for unlicensed
preaching. During a second jail sentence in
1675 he started to write Pilgrim's Progress,
the first part of which was published in
1678. Other works include Grace Abounding
1666, The Life and Death of Mr Badman 1680,
and The Holy War 1682. At 16, during the
Civil War, he was conscripted into the
Parliamentary army. Released in 1646, he
passed through a period of religious doubt
before joining the Baptists in 1653. In 1660
he was committed to Bedford county jail for
preaching, where he remained for 12 years,
refusing all offers of release conditional on
his not preaching again. During his
confinement he wrote Grace Abounding
describing his early spiritual struggles. Set
free in 1672, he was elected pastor of the
Bedford congregation, but in 1675 was again
arrested and imprisoned for six months in the
jail on Bedford Bridge, where he began The
Pilgrim's Progress. The book was an instant
success, and a second part followed in 1684.