The book was written at a time of a growing sense of Manx national identity, greatly due to the work of A. W. Moore himself.

This book has remained the primary text for the history of Isle of Man since that time.

The Story of the Isle of Man was published the following year, with the specific aim of offering an accessible shorter history of the island, suitable for use by children and teachers within Manx schools.

The structure of the book sets the landscape of Manx history as Moore saw it:[3] This function of The Story of the Isle of Man leads to a specifically pedagogical element to the book, which comes out in the tone, structure and the content of the work.

Notable examples of this include the overtly moralistic tone and positivity about recent history, which Moore sees as marked by "reform and progress";[4] the listing of a number of "Manx Worthies" as good Manx citizens worthy of emulation; and, perhaps most clearly, in the seven duties of individuals towards the state that Moore concludes at the end of the book:[5] Although Moore's paramount importance as a historian of the Isle of Man remains unquestioned, as does the rigorousness of his work, contemporary historians of the island would question some of what appears in the book.