It is the fifth book in the Chronicles of Barsetshire series, preceded by Framley Parsonage and followed by The Last Chronicle of Barset. It enjoyed a revival in popularity in the early 1990s when the British prime minister, John Major, declared it as his favourite book. The Small House at Allington concerns the Dale family, who live in the "Small House", a dower house intended for the widowed mother (Dowager) of the owner of the estate.
The landowner, in this instance, is the bachelor Squire of Allington, Christopher Dale. Dale's mother having died, he has allocated the Small House, rent free, to his widowed sister-in-law and her daughters Isabella ("Bell") and Lilian ("Lily").