The identity of Cormac McCarthy’s previously undisclosed ‘muse’ has come to light in a profile featured in Vanity Fair, released on Wednesday.

This article, which includes snippets from personal letters and testimony from a woman named Augusta Britt, claims that the pair first met when she was just 16 years old and he was 42. McCarthy passed away in 2023.

Britt revealed to Vanity Fair that, to escape from unsafe foster homes, she often visited the Desert Inn motel pool in Tucson, Arizona. It was here she says she recognized McCarthy from a photograph on the back of his book she was reading, “The Orchard Keeper,” his debut novel.

YSL News has reached out for comments from McCarthy’s representatives.

“He was so surprised,” Britt recounted. “He said he couldn’t believe that anyone, especially a 16-year-old girl, had read that book.”

At the time of their encounter, she was carrying a gun for her protection against years of abuse from her father and foster parents. It’s believed that her resilient persona influenced characters in McCarthy’s novels like Harrogate and Wanda in “Suttree,” among others in at least ten of his works, the article states.

“He genuinely wanted to learn more about my life,” she shared. “It was the first instance where someone cared about my thoughts and opinions. Having this adult man interested in conversing with me was incredibly comforting.”

While McCarthy led a nomadic life as a writer, Britt waited at the Desert Inn for his calls. She mentioned that he would send her books, and upon his returns to Tucson, he would leave cash for cabs or phone calls hidden between the pages of the Wall Street Journal at a Denny’s.

“It always had to be the fourth Wall Street Journal. He enjoyed the secrecy of it. For all I know, he could have been watching me from behind some mailbox as I went in,” Britt shared with Vanity Fair.

McCarthy’s friend assists in fleeing

After being severely beaten at home one night, Britt claims McCarthy offered her a way out to Mexico.

The escape was facilitated by Michael Cameron, a long-time friend of McCarthy’s. “I helped them get away,” Cameron stated, mentioning he dealt with calls from Britt’s mother’s acquaintances and even the police. “It was a terrifying escape. I recall McCarthy looking quite anxious, often checking over his shoulder,” he said.

However, the significant age difference raised concerns. As they made their way to Mexico, Britt mentioned to Vanity Fair that McCarthy was under investigation for statutory rape and the Mann Act. Nevertheless, she insists their relationship was appropriate, saying, “One of my fears is that he’s not here to defend himself. He saved my life.”

“I loved him deeply. He was my protector,” Britt expressed. “I genuinely believe that without him, I would have died young. The complications arose later on when he began to write about me.”

After Britt turned 18 and they returned from Mexico, their relationship became strained. She discovered that McCarthy was married and had a child. “Cormac was my life, my guide,” she remarked. “He was my idol. Learning about his lies created cracks in the trust.”

McCarthy had three marriages and fathered two children.

Despite their connection enduring until his final days, Britt told Vanity Fair that the bond weakened after he received the MacArthur grant in 1981, allowing her to return home to her family, and it was never fully repaired.

Britt also expressed that seeing herself reflected in his writing was challenging. Her characters typically met grim fates. “I started to think he must not believe in me,” she said. “It took me many years to realize he might have been eliminating the darkness from my life by ending those characters.”

McCarthy’s muse tells her story

Vincenzo Barney, the Vanity Fair journalist who reported on this, learned about Britt’s narrative after he published a review of “The Passenger” on Substack.

“Santa Fe changed the Cormac I once knew. He became famous, wealthy, and surrounded by shallow acquaintances,” she expressed. “In recent years, he’s returned to drinking. He lives in grand surroundings yet finds no joy in it. It’s cluttered with debris from his life. It’s as if he’s haunted.”

Afterward, she contacted Barney, inviting him to Tucson to share her experience. They spent many hours looking through letters and going horseback riding together over the course of nine months, as she unfolded her striking narrative.

“I’ve been terrified to share my story,” Britt confessed to Barney. “It feels disloyal to Cormac. I’ve often questioned who would even believe me. I suppose I’m just more reserved than he is. But he always warned me that eventually his archives would be opened, revealing my existence.”