Agnes Maule Machar (pen name, Fidelis; 23 January 1837 – 24 January 1927) was a Canadian author, poet and social reformer. Early life Machar's father, John Machar immigrated to Canada in 1827, and married Margaret Sim (a fellow Scottish immigrant) in Montreal in 1832. The couple established themselves in Kingston, Ontario (then part of Upper Canada), where her father was the pastor of St. Andrew's Church, and second principal of Queen's University (1846–1853). The couple's first child died in infancy; Agnes was born in 1837; and her brother, John Maule, in 1841. Apart from a brief stint at a boarding school in Montreal, Machar was educated by her father at home. By the age of ten Machar was studying Latin and Greek, instructed by her father and aided by his extensive library. Soon after she learned French, Greek and Italian. After her father’s death in 1863, she remained with her mother. Social circles Machar moved in influential social circles, mingling with future prime minister John A. Macdonald, politicians like Richard John Cartwright, and professors at Queen's University such as George Romanes. At her summer home, Ferncliff, in Gananoque she hosted an array of visitors including Daniel James Macdonnell and Emily Pauline Johnson. In 2015, Machar was named a person of national historic significance by the federal government. She has also been recognized by the Kingston Historical Society as a prominent woman in Kingston society. Writer Machar was a prolific writer. Her first published book, Faithful Unto Death, was a memorial to a janitor at Queen's, published in 1859. Her 1870 novel, Katie Johnstone's Cross, won the Campbell's Prize (offered by Toronto publisher James Campbell and Son), and she won the same prize again the next year for Lucy Raymond. In 1874 she received another prize, this time for For King and Country, awarded by The Canadian Monthly and National Review; the novel is probably her best known work. Writing under her own name, and the pseudonym Fidelis, Machar published at least eight novels, a biography of her father, and many poems and essays. An anthology of her poetry, Lays of the "True North" and Other Canadian Poems was published in 1899, and she coauthored six historical works. Machar was called the "first of Dominion poetesses" by Sir Edwin Arnold. In 1887, she won the prize offered by the Week for the best poem on Queen Victoria's Jubilee. As an essayist,