Anne de Vries was born in Kloosterveen, on the countryside of Drenthe and lived on a "lonely farm".

In 1945, De Vries was arrested by the Sicherheitsdienst, but was released because one of the Nazi officers loved his novel Hilde.

[5] The book is divided into 4 parts: The main character is Jan (in the translation John) de Boer.

The book finishes with the de Boer family hiding in a forest as the Germans destroy their house.

While in Reis door de nacht, taking the right moral choices is seen as one of the main features of being a good person, 21st century historians argue that most Dutch people ended up in certain situations by mere accident.

[8] In 2018, Reis door nacht was part of an exposition of children's literature in the Second World War, alongside Oorlogswinter.

[9] Dutch author Maarten 't Hart, who grew up in a reformed environment, stated that De Vries' depiction of the character Wiesje Langemaat in the novel awakened his interest in travesty.