author
Caroline Atwater Mason
1853–1939
A prolific American novelist and travel writer, she moved easily between fiction, travel writing, and books shaped by religious and missionary interests. Her career stretched from the late 19th century into the early 1900s, with works that reflect both literary ambition and a wide curiosity about the world.
1 Audiobook
A Woman of Yesterday
by Caroline Atwater Mason
About the author
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, on July 10, 1853, Caroline Atwater Mason became an American novelist and travel writer whose work also included writing on missions and peace. She studied at the Friends Boarding School in Providence and spent a year studying in Germany, experiences that helped give her writing an unusually broad outlook for her time.
In 1877 she married John H. Mason, a Baptist clergyman and later a professor at Rochester Theological Seminary. Alongside her family life, she built a substantial writing career, publishing novels such as A Titled Maiden, The Little Green God, and A Minister of the World, as well as travel books including The Spell of Italy.
Her later books show a strong interest in religion, world missions, and international understanding. She died on May 2, 1939, leaving behind a body of work that blends storytelling, travel, and moral reflection in a way that still feels distinctive.