Katharine Roberts was born in Fort Madison on July 22, 1895, the daughter of Dr. Francis and Ann Cowles Roberts. She grew up in Fort Madison. In World War I she was a foreign correspondent for the Western Newspaper Union. During World War II, she was a free lance writer overseas.

She drew upon her war experience to write two novels about the European underground, Center of the Web and Private Report. After the war, she wrote a non-fiction book about the struggles of the Belgian peoples to rebuild entitled And the Bravest of These. For these books, she was awarded the Cross of the Knight of the Order of the Crown by Prince Charles, Regent of Belgium. She was also given a button by commandants of the underground movement.

Prior to writing her books, Ms. Roberts wrote short stoires and articles for major American magazines. She also had a play produced on Broadway in 1932, called "Divorce Me, Dear." She also engaged in speaking, in person and in radio broadcasts.

She died in New York on March 4, 1968.