Her first works contained a social and economic bent, such as "Schopenhauer on Lake Pepin: A Study", but she soon turned to short stories. Iowa and Arkansas gave her opportunities for exploiting regions hitherto little attempted in fiction. Her stories "The Bishop's Vagabond", "The Hay of the Cyclone", and "Whitsun Harp, Regulator" were popular. These initially appeared in the "Atlantic Monthly" and "Scribner's Magazine". Later they appeared in her books. Her novel "Expiation" (1890), won high praise. She prided herself on accurately depicting the physical setting of her stories, and limning the customs and dialect of her characters.