Good Words was a 19th-century monthly periodical established in the
United Kingdom in 1860 by the Scottish publisher
Alexander Strahan.[1] Its first editor was
Norman Macleod. After his death in 1872, it was edited by his brother, Donald Macleod,[2] though there is some evidence that the publishing was taken over at that time by W. Isbister & Co.[3]
Intended readership and content
Good Words was directed at
evangelicals and
nonconformists, particularly of the lower middle classes. It included overtly religious material, but also fiction and non-fiction articles on general subjects, including science.[4] The standard for content was that the devout should be able to read it on Sundays without sin.[5] It became known as a "fireside read", which could be shared and enjoyed by adults, servants and masters.[6]
In 1863, Norman Macleod wrote that the magazine had a circulation of 70,000.[1] In the following year, it advertised a monthly circulation of 160,000, but the number is probably exaggerated.[7][8]
In 1906, Good Words was amalgamated with the weekly Sunday Magazine, and published in that format until 1910.[9]
References
^
abR. H. Super (1990). The Chronicler of Barsetshire: A Life of Anthony Trollope (University of Michigan Press) pp. 150–155.