Wolf was born with a congenital defect and spent part of her life in a wheelchair.

Her parents, Simon and Annette (née Levy) Wolf, were Jewish[1][2][3] and were emigrants from Alsace, France.

[3] Her first novel, Other Things Being Equal (Chicago, A. C. McClurg, 1892), focused on the present-day social life of the American Jew, with the lesson derived being that other things being equal, a Jewish woman may marry a Christian.

[7] A Prodigal in Love (New York City, Harper, 1894), again set in San Francisco, was a successful novel telling the story of home perplexities.

[10] Heirs of Yesterday (Chicago, A. C. McClurg, 1900) was described by Adler & Szold (1906) as "an interesting novel in which the force of tradition upon the Jew and the prejudiced attitude of the Christians are the underlying motives".