 Although she admired Howells and James, she did not often emulate them, with "The Path of a Star" (1899) being a notable exception.A recurring theme is an examination of the nature of authority and its relationship to autonomy, which was a topic that much concerned her mostly middle-class audience.Particularly adept with dialogue but less so with point of view, much of her work is ironic in tone and, according to Dean, attempts 

Duncan's first book was her most successful; "cheerfully anecdotal", says Warkentin, and "written with flair and self-conscious charm; it was written to sell, and sell it did."