Writing under the pseudonym Maria de Bell-lloc (sometimes spelled Bell-lloch), that she used her entire career, she is notable as one of the first Spanish women folklorists and the first woman novelist to be published in Catalan.

She was also one of the first folklorist women, conducting field work to collect and transcribe Catalan legends and ethnographic narratives that she later recreated and edited.

[2][4] Maria wrote about her Catalan heritage and her stories and poems were set in the themes and landscapes of the Vallès region near Barcelona, Spain.

It was a place that was very dear to her as the Maspons family owned the manor house at Bigues and often visited there.

[3] On May 13, 1880, the Catalan Excursions Association organized a literary evening in which Maria's Montseny traditions were read.