Discusses the writer's life and works, her heartbreaks and successes, and her relationships with such notable figures as Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Jack London, Willa Cather, and Ansel Adams.
"This book seamlessly combines biography and criticism. [Lanigan] adeptly analyzes Austin's life...and also offers insightful analyses of Austin's writing. Like other females of her period, she received too little recognition for her original prose style and social critiques...