Religious Tract Society


The Religious Tract Society, founded 1799, 56 Paternoster Row and 65 St. Paul's Chuchyard and 164 Piccadilly, was the original name of a major British publisher of tracts of Christian literature intended initially for evangelism, and including literature aimed at children, women, and the poor.
The RTS is also notable for being the publisher of the Boy's Own Paper, Girl's Own Paper and The Leisure Hour.

Founding group

At the foundation of the Religious Tract Society, there was support from bishops, including Shute Barrington and Beilby Porteus. The founding group included:
The founders were drawn from the same group of evangelicals who founded the London Missionary Society in 1795, and the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804.

Publications

The society started by publishing tracts, but rapidly expanded their work into the production of books and periodicals. Their books were mostly small but did include larger works such as the multi-volume Devotional Commentary and the massive Analytical Concordance to the Bible of Robert Young.
From the 1860s, the Society began publishing novels aimed at women and children, providing a platform for a new generation of women writers, including Rosa Nouchette Carey.
The society also published the notable novel, Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan. They reproduced Pilgrim's Progress, in many formats including; penny parts, Sunday School prize additions, and cheap abridgments.

20th century changes

In 1935 the RTS merged with the Christian Literature Society for India and Africa to form the United Society for Christian Literature. In 1931, there was a change of imprint to Lutterworth Press for all RTS publications intended for the home market.

Works