In my opinion, an author failing to destroy material is tacit permission to have it published after their death—especially if the main reason why they didn't pu

In my opinion, an author failing to destroy material is tacit permission to have it published after their death—especially if the main reason why they didn't publish it is embarrassment. A dead person cannot suffer embarrassment. Of course a person can suffer embarrassment before they've died. This is exactly why we should publish whatever we like after death. If it became the norm for famous authors to have their manuscripts raided for interesting works, then such authors will do a better job of not having manuscripts survive their death, solving these silly disputes once and for all.