Religious Tract Society (Great Britain)

The Religious Tract Society was a British evangelical Christian organization established in London in 1799 to publish and distribute Protestant religious literature. It became widely known for producing inexpensive tracts and books aimed at a broad readership, with a mission that mixed religious outreach with mass publishing.

Over the 19th century, the society grew into a major force in popular print. Alongside devotional works, it issued educational and family reading and became associated with well-known periodicals including The Sunday at Home, The Leisure Hour, Boy's Own Paper, and Girl's Own Paper. Its publishing shows how closely religion, education, and entertainment could overlap in Victorian Britain.

For readers today, the Religious Tract Society is notable not as a single author in the usual sense, but as a historic institution behind a large body of moral, religious, and popular literature. Its books and magazines offer a window into the values, reading habits, and publishing ambitions of 19th-century Britain.