This Day in History: Puritan preacher John Bunyan published The Pilgrim's Progress on this day in 1678, which some claim is the best-selling book (apart from the Bible) in history. The book is presented as a dream sequence wherein the protagonist describes his journey from the "City of Destruction" ("this world"), to the "Celestial City" ("that which is to come") atop Mount Zion. The Pilgrim's Progress demonstrates that knowledge is gained through travel by portraying Christian and his companions learning from their mistakes on their journey. Pilgrimage depends on travel, and so a pilgrim must be a voyager prepared to go far and wide.
The book has been cited as the first novel written in English. It has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been out of print. Bunyan began writing The Pilgrim's Progress while in prison (he was arrested for refusing to attend the services of the established church and preaching to unlawful assemblies).
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