Mainwaring's statement back to these critics was, "The argument that she was a great writer and how dare I? Well, I don’t think she was always a great writer, at least not as great as some. I wouldn’t have attempted this with a George Eliot or a Jane Austen novel. … Edith Wharton was not at her stylistic best here; that made it easier for me." Mainwaring was not well known before her work with the "Buccaneers", but she was known for being a translator and scholar.