The Pilgrim's Progress

Timeline

1. 1660–1672Bedford Prison · EnglandBunyan was again imprisoned after the Restoration for insisting on Nonconformist preaching, and conceived and wrote Part I of The Pilgrim's Progress in plain English in jail; the manuscript was secretly copied among Baptists and other Nonconformist communities.
2. 1660–1678English Nonconformist communities · EnglandAgainst a backdrop of official publishing censorship and religious suppression, copies spread through Baptist, Congregationalist, and other networks, becoming a core text for Puritan spiritual cultivation and moral education and building a readership ahead of formal publication.
3. 1678–1684London · LondonNathaniel Ponder published Part I in London, which immediately became a bestseller; Part II followed in 1684. The printed editions carried the work beyond sectarian circles into the English popular reading market and influenced later novel form.