John Bunyan

John Bunyan was an English Puritan preacher and writer, born to a poor tinker's family in Bedfordshire, with little formal education. After his conversion, he became a powerful lay preacher and, after the Restoration, was imprisoned for over twelve years for preaching without a license from the Church of England.

It was during his imprisonment that Bunyan wrote much of The Pilgrim's Progress, the allegory of the Christian life that would go on to become one of the most published books in the English language, translated into more than 200 languages.

• Imprisoned for over 12 years in Bedford Gaol for unlicensed preaching
• Author of The Pilgrim's Progress and Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners
• Pastor of the Bedford Meeting, a Nonconformist congregation