‘More than just a magazine’: the Boy’s Own Paper and Girl’s Own Paper, 1914-1967

Abstract

The Boy’s Own Paper and Girl’s Own Paper were launched in 1879 and 1880 respectively by the Religious Tract Society, an evangelical Christian missionary organisation. Both papers were long running, with Girl’s Own Paper ceasing publication in 1956 and Boy’s Own Paper continuing until 1967. Many existing studies of the papers have focused strongly on the Victorian and Edwardian years of their existence, and have often taken content as a starting point, attempting to interpret their meaning or significance. This study adopts a wholly fresh perspective, taking a holistic approach to the papers, and thus acknowledging their production in its entirety. It considers the period from 1914 to 1967, which was a key period for the papers but also a significant time in British social history. Both papers are viewed as constructs; negotiated space in which the publisher, editors and readers all interacted in the production of the text. There is analysis of the role of the Religious Tract Society as publisher, its aims and objectives, its influence in wider society, and the significance of its evangelical outlook. The importance of the editorial role is considered, not least the manner in which editors interacted with readers and set the tone of the papers within the publisher’s framework. Readers’ interactions with the papers are explored, and the opportunities these afforded for them to participate in the construction of the text. The Boy’s Own Paper and Girl’s Own Paper are viewed, not as reflections of reality, but as evidence of the way in which issues such as gender, religious identity and social change were constructed through the interactions of publisher, editors and readers; all of whom saw the papers as far more than ‘just a magazine’.

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