[1] It belonged to the genre of "Sunday reading" periodicals, intended to provide religiously-inspired entertainment for families to read on Sundays.

It contained a mixture of non-fiction, verse, short stories, and serialized novels, as well as featuring black and white woodcut illustrations by artists such as Robert Barnes, Edward Hughes, and George Pinwell.

[1] It was initially edited by Scottish minister Thomas Guthrie.

Due to declining health, Guthrie had retired from ministry in 1864 in favour of literary efforts, and he contributed a significant amount of writing to the magazine during his tenure as editor.

[2] In May 1906, the magazine was merged with Good Words, another religious periodical published by Strahan, resulting in the title Good Words and Sunday Magazine.