Lena Wrace: Duplicity and betrayal abounds in this early 20th century story of love

Her father was a Liverpool shipowner who, after being made bankrupt, became an alcoholic and died whilst May was still a child. The family then moved to Ilford, just outside London and, after a solitary year of education, May was required to stay home and help look after her older brothers, four of whom were suffering from fatal congenital heart disease.

Despite this difficult start May was determined to pursue a...