In addition to writing travel articles for several American magazines and newspapers, Wallace published six books, five of which contain collected essays from her travels in the New Mexico Territory, Europe, and the Middle East in the 1880s: The Land of the Pueblos (1888), The Storied Sea (1883), The Repose in Egypt: A Medley (1888), Along the Bosphorus, and Other Sketches (1898), and The City of the King: What the Child Jesus Saw and Heard (1903).

Susan completed the manuscript of Lew Wallace's two-volume autobiography following his death in 1905, with the assistance of Mary Hannah Krout, another Crawfordsville author.

"[7][8] The Wallaces established their first home at Covington, where Lew continued to practice law, but moved to Crawfordsville in 1853, to be closer to her family.

[9] Lew became a major general during the American Civil War, who was later appointed governor to the New Mexico Territory and served as the U.S. Minister to the Ottoman Empire.

[11][12][13][14] In February 1879, Susan joined Lew in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he served as the territorial governor, but she disliked its dusty, dry climate, and returned to Indiana in October.

[15] In 1881 Susan accompanied her husband to his diplomatic post in Constantinople, Turkey, and traveled throughout Europe, Egypt, and the Holy Land during their years abroad.

[12] When Lew's diplomatic assignment ended in 1885, the Wallaces returned to Crawfordsville, where Susan was prominent in the town's literary community.

Collected essays were later published in four books: The Storied Sea (1883), A Repose in Egypt, A Medley (1888), Along the Bosphorus, and Other Sketches (1898), and The City of the King: What the Child Jesus Saw and Heard (1903).

[19][20] Ginèvra; or, The Old Oak Chest, A Christmas Story (1866), which is based on a Samuel Rogers poem, initially appeared in 1884 in the New York Independent.

[21] Wallace was writing his memoirs when he died in 1905, and Susan completed his manuscript with assistance from Mary Hannah Krout, another Crawfordsville author.