[1] She was a members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was part of the Mormon Home literature movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

She is best known as the author of the novel A Ship of Hagoth (1896), which was adapted in two stage plays and the 1931 motion picture Corianton: A Story of Unholy Love.

In 1881, Julia married Aaron Johnson McDonald and, the next year, she moved to Mesa, Arizona with her husband and newborn daughter LeClaire.

[6] After her husband's death, Julia moved to Salt Lake City and began studying obstetrics with Dr. Ellias R. Shipp.

In 1888, she became the plural wife of Mormon Elder John E. Pace, who encouraged her to travel to Ann Arbor to study medicine at the University of Michigan.

To Roberts' characterization, McDonald added an elaborate romantic plot involving Corianton, his brother Shiblon, and two women named Isabel and Relia.