Frances Parkinson Keyes grew as a known writer throughout her lifetime overcoming obstacles that many would be defeated by. Started a young age, she wrote drafts of short stories that were a rough start to her beginning as an author but was very persistent to keep progressing. She defined her growth as an author by the amount of books she read at young age and published.

Being first published in 1918 for her novel, The Old Gray Homestead, by the Houghton Mifflin announced her arrival to the world as a considerable author. At the start of her career, she faced adversity by learning whether to keep her stories authentic and not change any detail even if advised to by her publishers. Keyes fought with companies to have her stories published how they were written. She wrote for her readers and herself. In 1948 her determintation as a true author, her bestseller, Dinner at Antoine's, was published and captured the attention of many. 

As a bestselling author, Keyes finished out her career by writing over 50 books in her lifetime. Her fiction was very notable for the creativity she put into each story, making sure each detail was correct, down to the language, characteristics of her characters and the setting. She was very devoted to her writing and career in the 20th Century to be considered a distinguished and popular author of her time.