The Life and Death of Mr. Badman

work by Bunyan

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June 30, 2026

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The Life and Death of Mr. Badman is an allegorical work by John Bunyan, published in 1680. Unlike Bunyan's more famous The Pilgrim's Progress, this work is less of a spiritual allegory and more of a realistic portrayal of an unrepentant, wicked tradesman named Mr. Badman. The book offers insights into the social issues of marriage and money that arose as Puritans began to establish their place in society after a period of persecution. It serves as a cautionary tale, detailing the life and eventual demise of a morally corrupt individual.1

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John Bunyan
Later life and works of John Bunyan
His The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680) is more like a realistic novel than an allegory in its portrait of the unrelievedly evil and unrepentant tradesman Mr. Badman. The book gives an insight into the problems of money and marriage when the Puritans were…
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His The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680) is more like a realistic novel than an allegory in its portrait of the unrelievedly evil and unrepentant tradesman Mr. Badman. The book gives an insight into the problems of money and marriage when the Puritans were…
Read More

English literature
Writings of the Nonconformists
…stature, are especially worth reading: The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680), which, with graphic local detail, remorselessly tracks the sinful temptations of everyday life, and The Holy War (1682), a grandiose attempt at religious mythmaking interlaced with contemporary political allusions.
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…stature, are especially worth reading: The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680), which, with graphic local detail, remorselessly tracks the sinful temptations of everyday life, and The Holy War (1682), a grandiose attempt at religious mythmaking interlaced with contemporary political allusions.
Read More