There is nothing more comforting than a hot cup of tea, especially when a family member is feeling unwell. Caroline Grills (also known as Aunt Thally) understood this, and was always on hand to provide endless cups of tea and cakes. She dutifully attended to each sick relative, making their imminent demise much more comfortable than it otherwise may have been.

Marie loved shopping. She had been brought up by parents who both worked long hours and they saw new clothes, toys and other niceties as a suitable replacement for hugs and boundaries. She grew up believing that shopping solved everything.

Surviving childhood was an achievement in itself in the early 1900s. Any number of illnesses periodically threatened to snatch away little ones at random. Parisian Jeanne Weber knew this well. A couple of these random illnesses had already taken her two youngest children by early 1905.

Winnie McKinnell thought that when she got married to Dr William Judd, it would lead to an exciting life.

Leonarda Cianciulli was a resourceful woman. She knew how to make use of any leftovers, knew how to stretch a lira. It was the 30s, and money was tight. In those times, you made do.