Casting about for purpose as a wealthy plantation owner, Dorsey wrote articles for the "New York Churchman" in the 1850s. She published her first fictional work in 1863–1864 in the "Southern Literary Messenger", which serialized her novel "Agnes Graham," which featured a heroine modeled on herself. The romantic novel had a young woman fall in love with her cousin, whom she plans to marry until she learns about their common blood line. The success of the serials prompted her aunt Catherine's Philadelphia publisher, Claxton, Remsen and Haffelfinger, to republish the work in book form after the war. Other fictional works of Dorsey include "Lucia Dare "(1867), with a heroine modeled on her own experiences in fleeing Louisiana for Texas during the war. Its descriptions were considered harrowing by contemporary readers. She also completed "Athalie" (1872), and "Panola" (1877).