Although historically scholars have painted Lewis, in the context of Willa Cather's career, as a mere copy editor or secretary, recent research has indicated that Lewis had a rich editorial and professional career that had a significant impact upon Cather's creative process.

[5] According to scholar Melissa Homestead, Lewis shaped Cather's prose alongside one another in a sort of "parallel silent activity in domestic space".

At times, their collective editing of a single copy of a work, including written comments, became "so intertwined they are nearly inseparable."

Although Cather never dedicated her writing to Lewis, there is an apparent shared ownership between the two of them, informed by their domestic and emotional relationship to one another.

"[6] Lewis shared a home with Willa Cather in New York City for almost 40 years.