Kristens resa by John Bunyan / Swedish edition of the Pilgrim's Progress - from This World, to that which is to Come / Translated by Carl Henrik, Ulla Rehnström / Artos & Norma 2006 / Hardcover

Hardcover with dust jacket 2006

ISBN-10: 9175802635

ISBN: 9789175802633   /  9789175802633

PAGES: 215

PUBLISHER: Artos & Norma

LANGUAGE: Swedish / Svenska

English Summary:

The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious, theological fiction in English literature.It has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been out of print.^[5][6] It has also been cited as the first novel written in English.

This famous story of man's progress through life in search of salvation remains one of the most entertaining allegories of faith ever written. Set against realistic backdrops of town and country, the powerful drama of the pilgrim's trials and temptations follows him in his harrowing journey to the Celestial City.
Along a road filled with monsters and spiritual terrors, Christian confronts such emblematic characters as Worldly Wiseman, Giant Despair, Talkative, Ignorance, and the demons of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. But he is also joined by Hopeful and Faithful.
An enormously influential 17th-century classic, universally known for its simplicity, vigor, and beauty of language, The Pilgrim's Progress remains one of the most widely read books in the English language.

Swedish Summary:

Kristens resa (originalets engelska titel: The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come) är en allegorisk roman av John Bunyan, utgiven 1678. Den har en fortsättning som heter Kristinnas resa. Boken anses vara ett av världens mest sålda verk. Det finns ett 20-tal olika svenska översättningar av boken. William Thackeray tog titeln Vanity Fair (Fåfängans marknad) från en marknad i staden Fåfänglighet i Kristens resa.

Kristen bor i staden Undergång med sin fru och sina fyra barn, men en dag hittar han en bok som skrämmer honom, den säger att hela staden kommer brännas ner. Samtidigt som han läser boken får han en börda på ryggen som inte går att få av. När han sedan träffar Evangelist förstår han att om han vill överleva måste han fly bort från allt och börja söka efter den himmelska staden. Under resan mot den himmelska staden träffar han både vänner och fiender bl.a. Velig, Hjälp, Uttydaren, Trogen, Domare Hatman, Hoppfull, Jätten Skräck, Ateist och många andra innan han till slut kommer fram.

Kristens resa, som utkom 1678 i England, är ett av världslitteraturens mest översatta och spridda verk. Den är framförallt ett andligt storverk. I allegorins form skildras Kristen som flyr från Fördärvets stad, råkar i jätten Förtvivlans klor och kämpar med vidundren i Dödsskuggans dal, för att slutligen nå den strålande Himlastaden. Kristens resa är en bok för hela livet - från vaggan till graven. Den djupnar med åren och lyfter blicken mot det Himmelska målet. Här föreligger den nu i en trogen och lättläst nyöversättning av Carl Henrik och Ulla Rehnström

About the Author:

John Bunyan (/ˈbʌnjən/; baptised November 30, 1628 – August 31, 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory The Pilgrim's Progress. In addition to The Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyan wrote nearly sixty titles, many of them expanded sermons.

Bunyan came from the village of Elstow, near Bedford. He had some schooling and at the age of sixteen joined the Parliamentary Army during the first stage of the English Civil War. After three years in the army he returned to Elstow and took up the trade of tinker, which he had learned from his father. He became interested in religion after his marriage, attending first the parish church and then joining the Bedford Meeting, a nonconformist group in Bedford, and becoming a preacher. After the restoration of the monarch, when the freedom of nonconformists was curtailed, Bunyan was arrested and spent the next twelve years in jail as he refused to give up preaching. During this time he wrote a spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, and began work on his most famous book, The Pilgrim's Progress, which was not published until some years after his release.

Bunyan's later years, in spite of another shorter term of imprisonment, were spent in relative comfort as a popular author and preacher, and pastor of the Bedford Meeting. He died aged 59 after falling ill on a journey to London and is buried in Bunhill Fields. The Pilgrim's Progress became one of the most published books in the English language; 1,300 editions having been printed by 1938, 250 years after the author's death.