On
this date in 1678 Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan was
published. 10 things you might not know about it.
- The full title is actually The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which is to Come; Delivered under the Simultude of a Dream.
- The book begins with the words: As I walk'd through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place, where was a Denn; And I laid me down in that place to sleep: And as I slept I dreamed a Dream..."
- Some say Pilgrim's Progress was the first English novel. Others maintain it was more a religious allegory than a novel.
- What's it about? The central character is a man called Christian, who sets out from his home in the City of Destruction on a pilgrimage to the Celestial City after a man named Evangelist makes him aware of his sins. On the way, Christian meets a number of characters which represent the trials and tribulations of living a Christian life (eg. Talkative, Crafty, Little-Faith, Humility, Mistrust, Pliable and Ignorance). His story is told in Part One, while Part Two, which was written six years later, tells the story of Christian's wife and children undertaking the same journey.
- Bunyan was in prison when he wrote it - for religious crimes, of course - preaching without a licence and refusing to attend Anglican church services (he was a Puritan).
- There was clearly a market for religious allegory in the 1670s. The book was reprinted the following year and again the year after that. It has never been out of print. Some estimates of sales to date reckon it is the best selling book ever, after the Bible.
- Common expressions which originated in the book include the Slough of Despond, meaning a state of depression (possibly based on grey clay deposits in Bedfordshire, near where Bunyan lived.
- Several authors later borrowed phrases from the book to use as titles, including John Buchan (Mr. Stanfast), Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist: or The Parish Boy's Progress) and William Makepeace Thackeray (Vanity Fair). Still others made reference to Pilgrim's Progess in their work, including CS Lewis, Emily Bronte and Mark Twain.
- Ralph Vaughn Williams turned it into an opera in 1951. He made some changes, including calling the main character "Pilgrim" so it was less specific to one religion. It wasn't a great success at first as the changes Williams made didn't go down too well.
- It was also made into a film in 1978 by Ken Anderson. The film is notable for being the breakout role (or roles) for Liam Neeson, who played multiple characters in the film.
NEW!
Obsidian's Ark
Trish wonders how to get science whizz Tom to notice her; how to persuade him that the best way to stand up to the school bully is to fight back. She doesn't want her friends, especially not Tom, to know she is a genetic variant with superpowers. Little does she know that Tom has secrets of his own.
Suki struggles to make friends at school when she cannot understand everyday cultural references, and they all suspect her of being a terrorist. She, too, has a secret, but is it what her classmates assume?
When Daniel stumbles upon a plot by an alliance of supervillains to plunge the world into war, he tries to alert the established superheroes, but none of them believe him. When the Prime Minister's only daughter, Yasmin Miller, is abducted, Daniel knows the villains' plan is underway. It seems humanity's only hope may be Daniel and the ragtag bunch of teenage superheroes he recruits. Can he pull together, not only his own team, but the older heroes as well, in a bid to save the Earth from a devastating war?
Themes:
Superheroes; Coming of age; Leadership; Kidnap and rescue; Aliens; Friendship and rivalry; Terrorism; Secrets.
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