The Hobgoblins, a novel on John Bunyan

by Douglas Bond

Written in the persona of Harry Wylie, companion of the rebel John Bunyan, corrupted by the village blasphemer in his youth, who gives his eyewitness version of the life of Bunyan, including their service in the English Civil War, the various trials of Bunyan, and his imprisonment, where Harry has become jailer; Harry believes people never change, and Bunyan’s principled stand against civil tyranny he long dismisses as yet another expression of his rebellion.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 20, 2020

About the author

Douglas Bond, author of more than thirty books--several now in Dutch, Portuguese, Romanian, and Korean--is father of six, and grandfather of eleven--and counting--is Director for the Oxford Creative Writing Master Class and the Carolina Creative Writing Master Class, two-time Grace Award book finalist, adjunct instructor in Church history, recent advisory member to the national committee for Reformed University Fellowship, award-winning teacher, speaker at conferences, and leader of Church history tours in Europe.

Reviews

[Rivers Houseal · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, so good. This story is both a challenge and a comfort, for John Bunyan's comfort in the sufficiency of Christ is your comfort too! This is the storytelling of a master wordsmith...but then, who'd expect anything less from Mr. Douglas Bond? "Masterful" is his hallmark, and The Hobgoblins was no exception.

[Autumn Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a great book overall, and interesting to learn more about John Bunyan. The way they talked bugged me. Thee's and Thou's may have been the way they spoke back then, but it drives me up a wall reading it!! *laughs* I guess I just like books that have a more current feel to them. This book didn't really capture me either. It was good, but just not interesting enough to make me want to read it every spare moment. Other then that it was a good book.

[S.J. Siedenburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up, John Bunyan was big figure in my house, but I never learned about this side of him before. Taking a dive into his personal life told through the eyes of a friend was the fresh perspective I desperately needed.

Well-written, engaging, and humorous. I have been put off by fictional retellings of historical figures in the past, but this book did not rub me the wrong way. I enjoyed the read, and highly recommend this book!

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not as dramatic as some of Bond’s other historical fiction works, this was still an enjoyable read. I’m quite familiar with the life of John Bunyan, but I appreciated the perspective this book offered as it followed Bunyan through the eyes of his childhood friend Harry. Would certainly recommend it.

[Creed Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hobgoblins is a fascinaiting historical fictioon following the life of John Bunyan, the famous author who write books such as Pilgrims Progress. The book explore themes such as radical repentance and forgiveness, as well as topics of salvation through faith and not works. Over all, well written and very interesting.

[Linnea Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend.

[Parker Keys_to_hades · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest, I didn’t know much about John Bunyan except that he was imprisoned for his faith, and he wrote the Pilgrim’s Progress. This book was an awesome way to learn more about him, and it gave me a greater appreciation for who John Bunyan was.
Looking back, (mild spoiler here maybe? I guess? 🤷🏼‍♀️) I’m kind of weirded out that the thing with the preacher in the beginning didn’t go anywhere? It just disappeared, which is kind of disappointing because I wanted some conclusion there.
The book was great though. Douglas Bond is a very engaging writer.

[Marvin Jere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! Douglas Bond knows how to engage your imagination and you follow along quite easily. Rarely does a book make you chuckle ever so often, awaken convictions, and make you extremely sad that you have reached the last page. My only issue was I read it in breaks because we'd just had a new baby!

It is well written, Bond has a way with words. Highly recommend!