Join host David Hartmann and fellow Columbia alumni as the book club discusses The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan; a  selection by our book club member Chris Stacey. The Pilgrim's Progress is a founding text in the development of the English novel. "In Hollywood terms, the novel has a perfect 'arc'. It also contains a cast of unforgettable characters, from Mr Worldly Wiseman to Lord Hategood, Mr Stand-fast and Mr Valiant-for-Truth. More profoundly, as an allegory of state repression, it has been described by the historian EP Thompson as one of the 'foundation texts of the English working-class movement'. Part of its uniquely English quality is a robust and engaging sense of humour that has cemented its appeal to generations of readers."  Roger McCrum, The Guardian

Date: Thursday, April 16, 2026

Times: 6:30PM Central, 7:30PM Eastern, 4:30PM Pacific. For those in Europe the time is 12:30AM in London on April 17.

Location: Zoom Video Conference

Cost: Free

Reviews

Selected by Roger McCrum, The Guardian, "The 100 best novels: No 1 – The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (1678)"

"This new World's Classics...is excellent of its kind and for its purposes - easy to recommend and impossible to fault. The Introduction is lucid and engaging...Students, teachers and the general reader will find no better companion. The advanced scholar will also learn a thing or two.''--The Recorder (International John Bunyan Society Magazine)

Photo Credit: Oxford Classics Promotional Material, Public Domain