How do you remember someone you scarcely knew? How is immortality achieved for a woman who lived more in shadows than in spotlights, who lacked the confidence and self-awareness that would later blossom in her children and grandchildren, who grew distant and sour from accumulated decades of jealousies, losses and regrets? When award-winning actress Lynn Redgrave went looking for her grandmother's grave, she found the spot where the woman was buried -- but the headstone was blank. Over the years, acid rain had washed away the carved words until only smooth stone remained.

The experience prompted Redgrave to consider how history and time will recall those whose passing is marked only by the [...]