She studied literature and language, and also piano at a folk high school in Vadstena.

She is a trained librarian, but now works as a full time writer and literature critic.

Several of her works are historical novels, including Vinterträdet ("The Winter Tree", 2012), in which she portray Greta Garbo at the height of her international film career, Snö ("Snow", 2001) and Tornet och fåglarna ("The Tower and the Birds", 2017), which are both set in the early 18th century.

Snow, which depict the time after the Swedish army's return from Norway after the death of king Karl XII, was Mattson's first fictional work to be published in English translation (2005).

The main theme in Mattson's work is human relations and the question of the individual's freedom.