[2]: 64  She was known for setting her works in the Midwest, for a strong interest in American dialects, and for bringing a high standard of historical accuracy to the period detail of her novels.

[3] In 1899, Catherwood decided she needed to spend more time in Chicago to be nearer her publishers and for her daughter's schooling, so she took an apartment there that was her second home until she died.

[2]: 53 Catherwood began sending poems and news items to the Newark (Ohio) American when she was 15, drawing the attention of the editor, who was surprised to learn how young she was.

[2]: 43, 59 [5] Catherwood developed a signature style of incorporating Midwestern culture, dialect, and local color into her stories and novels.

[3] With her interest in the details of locality and daily life, she is said to have helped move American juvenile literature away from the extreme sentimentality of the era.

[2]: 71 While living in Indianapolis, she became friends with the poet James Whitcomb Riley, with whom she shared a strong interest in American dialects and whose career she helped to launch.

[3] The actor Otis Skinner turned one of her last books, Lazarre (1901), into a stage play in 1902; the cast included Nanette Comstock.