Atherton's education was limited and much of her knowledge was acquired from books provided by her grandfather. She married George Atherton when she was 18 and evidently led a rather boring life until his death in 1887. She took up writing initially as a hobby, but it soon turned out to be alife-long career. Much of her output concerned her home state of California, although she did produce some interesting neo-gothic tales and mysteries, plus an excellent fictional biography of Alexander Hamilton, which became a best-seller. Her best-known works included What Dreams May Come (1888), The Doomswoman (1895) The Aristocrats (1901), The Conqueror (1902), Bell in the Fog (1905), Ancestors (1907), Mrs. Balfame (1916), Avalanche (1919), Black Oxen (1923), The Jealous Gods (1928) and The Sophisticates (1931). |