McCarthy's 'Secret Muse' Revealed in New Claims

The late Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cormac McCarthy is revealed to have had a complex relationship with Augusta Britt, a woman who claims to have been his 'secret muse.' Britt met McCarthy in 1976 when she was 16 and he was 42, at a motel pool in Tucson, Arizona. Their relationship reportedly began after McCarthy signed her book and continued when he took her on a trip to Mexico, which influenced his novel Blood Meridian. Britt describes McCarthy as her protector, stating their relationship turned sexual when she was 17. Despite the legal implications, no evidence of police or federal investigation has been found. Britt believes she inspired several of McCarthy's fictional characters, although she faced challenges with how he depicted her in his works.