 Chatwin was ambivalent about his sexual orientation and had affairs with both men and women during this period of his life . One of his girlfriends , Elizabeth Chanler , an American and a descendent of John Jacob Astor , was a secretary at Sotheby 's . Chanler had earned a degree in history from Radcliffe College and worked at Sotheby 's New York offices for two years before transferring to their London office in 1961 . Her love of travel and independent nature appealed to Chatwin . 
