Susan Arnold Elston Wallace (1830–1907) was an American writer, poet, and travel essayist from Crawfordsville, Indiana. She married Lew Wallace, a prominent lawyer, Civil War general, politician, diplomat, and author. Her husband's diplomatic and political career took the couple to various parts of the world, providing rich material that she would draw upon for her own literary career.
Wallace became a prolific contributor to American magazines and newspapers, specializing in travel literature. During the 1880s, she accompanied her husband on his postings and travels, which inspired five of her six published books. These works captured her observations of diverse cultures and landscapes, ranging from the American Southwest in The Land of the Pueblos (1888) to her journeys across Europe and the Middle East in volumes such as The Storied Sea (1883) and Along the Bosphorus, and Other Sketches (1898). Her writings offered contemporary readers vivid, firsthand accounts of regions that were then considered remote or exotic.
In addition to her travelogues, Wallace wrote poetry and religious-themed works, such as The City of the King (1903). Following her husband's death in 1905, she took on the monumental task of completing his two-volume autobiography. Collaborating with fellow Crawfordsville author Mary Hannah Krout, she successfully prepared the manuscript for publication before her own death in 1907.
