author
Robert Aitkin Bertram
1836–1886
A Victorian Congregational minister and prolific compiler of religious reference works, he is best known for gathering poetry, sermons, and biblical commentary into practical books for preachers and teachers. His writing has the feel of someone trying to make faith, language, and Scripture immediately useful in everyday ministry.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in 1836, Robert Aitkin Bertram was a British Congregational minister who combined pastoral work with a remarkable output of devotional and reference writing. Reliable catalog and hymnological sources connect him with ministry in places including St. Helena, Manchester, Barnstaple, Nottingham, and Llanelly, and note that he studied at Owen's College, Manchester.
He is chiefly remembered for substantial religious compilations such as A Dictionary of Poetical Illustrations and A Homiletic Encyclopaedia of Illustrations in Theology and Morals. He also worked on A Homiletical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah, part of the wider Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary series. These books suggest a writer with a practical aim: to help ministers find language, examples, and structure for preaching.
Bertram died in 1886. Although he is not a widely known literary figure today, his books continued to circulate through library catalogs, digitized archives, and religious reference sites, which speaks to their long usefulness for readers interested in preaching, biblical study, and Victorian devotional literature.