Willa Cather was an intensely private individual. She often destroyed her old drafts, personal papers and letters. When she died, her will stipulated that Edith Lewis destroy her nearly completed novel, Avignon, and restricted the ability of scholars to quote from the personal papers that remained. While attending the University of Nebraska, she sometimes wore men’s clothing and used the nickname “William.” Her primary relationships were with women, and she lived with the editor Edith Lewis from 1912 until her death in 1947. Enjoy!