The 1917 novel The Dwelling-Place of Light focuses on labour unrest in a mill town in Massachusetts. The book's portrayal of the mill's subpar working conditions and the violent nature of the workers' rage is startlingly accurate. Churchill also had a keen eye for home affairs, as seen by his insightful portrayals of love and marriage.

Churchill was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and attended Smith Academy in Missouri and the United States Naval Academy, where he graduated in 1894. He joined the Army and Navy Journal as an editor after graduating. In order to pursue a writing career, he left the American Navy. He was appointed managing editor of the Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1895, but he left that position in less than a year to devote more time to writing. He was a published poet and essayist in addition to being a famous author. Some of his famous works include The Celebrity (1898), Richard Carvel (1899) The Crisis (1901), Coniston (1906), Mr. Crewe's Career (1908), A Modern Chronicle (1910), The Inside of the Cup (1913), A Far Country (1915) and The Dwelling-Place of Light (1917).