John Bunyan wrote "Pilgrim's Progress" in which a tinker takes a
journey to find the Everlasting City of heaven and on the way
meets people who try to harm him. But he derives strength from his
adversities. The journey is a metaphor for the Christian soul
trying to find salvation. It is Puritan in its sympathies and has
insights into human nature. John Dryden wrote on large social,
political, and humanistic issues, often by political satire.
William Congreve wrote plays such as a comedy on manners. William
Wycherley wrote cynical satires and portrayed folly, affection,
and vice. John Vanbrugh wrote plays satirizing London high society
and social institutions. John Toland wrote "Christianity and
Mysterious" on deism. "Puss in Boots", "Red Ridinghood", and
"Cinderella" became available in print. There were many female
poets, bookwriters, and playwrights. Anne Finch, later Vicountess
Conway, wrote the philosophical book: "Principle of the Most
Ancient and Modern Philosophy" to reconcile the new science with
Christian belief. In it every creature had a body and a spirit.
Mrs. Aphra Behn wrote "Oroonoko", one of the first novels. Basua
Makin, governess of the little sister of Charles II wrote an essay
to revive the education of women, arguing that women's activity in
wartime showed that they were fit to be educated. Elizabeth
Elstob, who studied Teutonic languages, was one of the founders of
women's education.
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