English writer and Puritan preacher John Bunyan died on 31 August 1688. He is best remembered as the author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, although he also wrote nearly sixty titles, many of them expanded sermons.
Bunyan’s involvement in the Baptist Church began soon after marrying Margaret Bentley in 1647. At the behest of his wife, Bunyan began to read the Bible and attend church on a regular basis. He started preaching and gained an immense, popular following. After bearing Bunyan four children, Margaret died in 1657 and he remarried two years later.
Bunyan’s rise as a popular preacher coincided with the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. The freedom of worship quickly ended, and he was arrested for preaching without a licence, spending the next twelve years in gaol. During this time, he began work on The Pilgrim’s Progress, which was not published until several years after his release. Freed in 1672, Bunyan immediately obtained a licence to preach under the declaration of indulgence.
Bunyan’s later years, despite another short term of imprisonment, were spent in relative comfort as a popular author and preacher, and pastor.
At age 59 Bunyan fell ill on a journey to London and died on the morning of 31 August 1688. His estate at his death was worth £42 19s 0d. His widow died in 1691.
The Pilgrim’s Progress is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature. It has been translated into more languages than any other book except the Bible and is said to be one of the most widely read books in English. It has been translated into more than 200 languages and has never been out of print.