Akins, Zoë (1886-1958). American poet, playwright, and screenwriter. Akins’ friendship with Cather started in 1909, when she submitted verse to McClure’s magazine, which Cather rejected, advising her to stay with playwriting. Akins subsequently moved from her hometown of St. Louis, MO, to New York City and achieved success as a playwright. She moved to California in the 1930s, adding screenwriting to her accomplishments. Her play The Old Maid (1935), an adaptation of an Edith Wharton novel, won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. In 1932, Akins married Captain Hugh Rumbold, a British theatrical designer and director; he died eight months later. Cather and Akins carried on a lifelong correspondence, with Cather writing affectionate letters that included both commentary on her own works and criticism of Akins’.

Stuart, Mary (1542-1587) (“Mary Queen of Scots”). Scottish monarch. The only surviving legitimate child of King James V of Scotland, she ascended to the throne as an infant after his death. She married the Dauphin of France, Francis, in 1558; he died in 1560, and she returned to Scotland, where she married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, in 1565; they had one child, James. After Darnley’s murder, she fled to England, seeking protection of her first cousin, once removed, Elizabeth I. Because many English Catholics considered Mary the legitimate sovereign, Elizabeth perceived her as a threat and confined her. Found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizbeth, she was beheaded. Thirty-nine poems have been attributed to Mary and were widely circulated in the 16th and 17th centuries.