Backhouse maintained his evangelical work all his life, travelling and preaching much in England, Scotland and Ireland. Among his published works, Backhouse wrote or edited "A memoir of Deborah Backhouse of York" (1828), "Memoirs of Francis Howgill" (1828), "Extracts from the Letters of James Backhouse" (1838–41), "The life and correspondence of William and Alice Ellis" (1849), "A short record of the life and experiences of Thomas Bulman" (1851), and numerous sermons, addresses and tracts. With Charles Tylor he wrote "The life and labours of George Washington Walker" (1862).