The Pilgrim's Progress

The Pilgrim's Progress (from This World to That Which Is to Come) is a work of religious literature by John Bunyan, published in 1678. For a time, Pilgrim's Progress was the "other book" in the Christian home, studied and taught only second to the Bible itself. This two part religious allegory follows the journey of a pilgrim, aptly named Christian, as he sets out from the City of Destruction. He must wend his way through various travails and pits of sin - The Slough of Despond, the Vanity Fair, the Castle Doubt - before he reaches the Celestial City.

Bunyan's characters are named very literally: first of all there's Christian and his wife, Christiania. Then other main characters like Evangelist, Mr. Worldly Wiseman, and Goodwill are featured to embody various elements of the pilgrim's journey. After the first book's success, Bunyan, as not to leave out the woman's pilgrimage, focused the second narrative on Christiania. They pass through many of the same places, yet linger a bit more to have four children, and encounter an additional cast of anthropomorphized personalities. Pilgrim's Progress has been translated into more than 200 languages and has never gone out of print. Whether you're a Christian or are intrigued with religious history, this work is a fundamental work of literature.