7 JULY 1928, Page 24

Bunyan continues to be fortunate in his tercentenary literature. No

better book of its kind could be desired than Mr. Charles G. Harper's The Bunyan Country (Cecil Palmer, 12s. 6d.). Mr. Harper is the most assiduous of our topo- graphers. But he is also the most spontaneous and alert, and his enthusiasm transmits itself to the reader. His volume is the fruit of painstaking geographical and historical research ; but it is no dry-as-dust piece of book-making. Bunyan is a living figure for Mr. Harper, and the descriptions of his haunts are well dovetailed into the summary c f career. An excellent chapter shows how Bunyan found in Bedfordshire scenes the raw material for The Pilgrim's Progress. The book is illustrated with Mr. Harper's own delightful pen-and-ink sketches.

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