This text is the original version, uncopyrighted, by John Bunyan, and is unaltered except for some spelling changes (e.g., "chuse" to "choose"), and the insertion of relevant Scripture references, which show how firmly the book is rooted in Scripture. The pictures are also in the public domain, the only sad part being there were not more of them.
I do not know what might be the practicality of reading, straight-through, an online version of The Pilgrim's Progress, but it is quite useful as a reference, and having an online version allows you to easily find and copy relevant portions into a document you are hammering out. The Scripture references are very thorough and add to the text's value as a sort of allegorical study guide. I was very glad to find a public-domain version wherein they had already been inserted.
And let me finally say, that I wish better printings of this work were more common, with durable binding, the original Elizabethian English, the Scripture references, and plenty of color illustrations to keep your eyes from glazing over. If anyone knows of such a copy, please advise me on that count, but all that I have seen lack at least two and usually three of those criteria.
The text is in Verdana, 10-point regular, or if you do not have Verdana on your computer, the page defaults to MS Sans Serif. The title graphic was created by me specifically for this online version, and is patterned after the original, set in Berliner and Garamond typefaces.
The overall style of the pages sets hyperlinks in orange (except for the blue gothic-style links which are actually images, not text), and all heading sizes in bold italic. The page was created using the CoffeeCup HTML Editor initially, and later on, TextPad32, the reason being that CoffeeCup couldn't handle the large files.
The entire book is plopped onto a single page, which is very large, so it may take a second or two to load up in your browser. Also, the browser may hiccup for a second when you click on any of the links in or that point to the table of contents, while it digs around through the page to find the spot you're looking for.
These pages have been tested for compatibility with Navigator 3+ and Internet Explorer 3+. It will look best with a browser that supports stylesheets (such as Netscape and Explorer), but at the worst, it will show up in all Times New Roman typeface with very thin margins and no wooden background.
I also have a plaintext version of this file with numbered sections and marginal notes available by e-mail request.
Joel Dueck (pike.end@juno.com)