While Anne Shirley was the main protagonist of the previous books, this novel focuses more on her six children and their interactions with the children of Anne's new neighbour, Presbyterian minister John Meredith. The work draws heavily on Montgomery's own life in the Leaskdale Manse, where she wrote a large number of books. The book is dedicated: "To the memory of Goldwin Lapp, Robert Brookes and Morley Shier who made the supreme sacrifice that the happy valleys of their home land might be kept sacred from the ravage of the invader." This refers to World War I, which is the main theme of the next and final book in the series, Rilla of Ingleside.
