Cooper was a writer who published on diverse subjects, but she is best remembered as a nature writer. She kept a diary that formed the basis of her second book, "Rural Hours" (1850), published anonymously as "by a lady" and offering a sharp-eyed account of rural life in New York. Cooper wrote many more essays, and edited two more volumes, on country life, but "Rural Hours" was the most successful, going through nine editions over the course of nearly forty years; it then appeared in 1887 in a severely abridged form (40% of the text is cut), in spite of Cooper's desire that it remain in its full form. Rural Hours was a remarkable accomplishment for Cooper because when it was published not many women wrote about natural history. It wasn't until the late 19th century when women's natural history writing took off. What set Rural Hours apart from the previous books written by her father and grandfather was Susan's remarkable attention to detail and accuracy in natural historical observations, and explicit call for preservation of the Ostego forests. Its noteworthy that this prescient call for forest preservation was published four years prior to Walden, 14 years prior to George Perkins Marsh's man and nature; or Physical geography as modified by human action(1864), two books recognized as among the earliest call for the preservation of American forests. Cooper also wrote an essay in the form of a letter about women's suffrage and a novel, "Elinor Wyllys".