Bunyan

From a tinker's household near Bedford, John Bunyan emerges in this biography as a writer shaped by religious fear, ordinary village life and an unusually active imagination. James Anthony Froude begins with Bunyan's childhood at Elstow, his schooling in Bedford and the Bible's place in seventeenth-century English homes. Published in 1880, the study follows his religious development, ministry, arrest and imprisonment before turning to the books that gave his experiences literary form.

Froude combines the life story with criticism of The Pilgrim's Progress, The Holy War and Life of Mr. Badman. He also considers Bunyan's verse, including his treatments of Ruth and Joseph, and pays close attention to the clarity and rhythm of his prose. Readers interested in Christian literature or English literary biography will find an account that connects a writer's conscience and surroundings with his handling of language, character and religious allegory.