 Originally, Calderón's letters were not intended for publication, but her friend, historian William Hickling Prescott, urged her to publish her writings into a travel book.With Prescott’s instrumental role in the publication of "Life in Mexico", the credibility and authenticity of her account was elevated beyond that of an ordinary female travel narrative.Prescott praised her book for its ethnographical and historiographical significance, and even included some of her observations in his own work, "The Conquest of Mexico", citing Calderón as the “most delightful of modern travelers”.