In his early post-college years, Flandrau taught English literature at Harvard College (1895–1896), tutored overseas (1896), and was an editor for The Youth's Companion in New York City (1897).

George Horace Lorimer commissioned Flandrau to write several stories which were published in the Saturday Evening Post, Bellman, and other magazines.

This travel book was critically acclaimed for its observations of social customs and political life under Mexican president Porfirio Díaz.

Haeg ranks Flandrau with great writers from St. Paul, including F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sinclair Lewis.

But he notes that Flandrau seemed to pull back from the career suggested by early demonstrations of his talent, and lived a very private life.