Neil and Vanessa live in a house identical to 25 Library Terrace. They have answered endless questions, counted their stairs for me several times, and shared Hogmanay celebrations, breakfasts and soup. Sleeping in the maid’s room in their home allowed me to think about Isobel’s life in a way I could not otherwise have imagined. The fact that their dog is a terrier called Stan is a complete coincidence. Thank you.

My great-grandmother wrote the original letter about the strawberry tea, and my great-grandfather wrote the love letter on blue notepaper from Fishguard. I altered their words only slightly to fit with the names of my characters. My great-grandfather’s punctuation is both real and astonishing.

Alan Bradshaw is the originator of CT1 (and CT2 and CT3). He is a birdwatcher and the originator of the (true) story about inedible cricket teas. There is a lot of weather in this book, from a surprisingly dry and warm January in 1911, to several record-breaking summer droughts. Alan is my go-to weather expert, always ready to dig into meteorological data on my behalf.

Andy Arthur has had a significant influence on my work although he may not realise it. His website www.threadinburgh.scot is a mine of information about things Edinburgh and Leith which are both obscure and interesting, including macaroni pies, plain bread and experimental council housing. He is the person I scrambled a message to when I needed to know about the council’s drainage plans in 1906, the manufacturing history of the ice cream cone, tram routes to Portobello, and Sunday postal deliveries in 1911.

The military historian behind www.oldfrontline.co.uk is Paul Reed. He kindly provided information about WW1 medals, and explained about WW1 cemeteries in France and Belgium. His help was invaluable when I was writing about Georgia’s trip to France. It’s important to note that the cemeteries in the book are my own invention and won’t be found on a map.

In addition, please note that Finlay Black, Gregor Anderson and Harris Anderson are entirely fictitious. No one with these names appears on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website which provides a record of 1.7 million Commonwealth lives lost.

I was privileged to listen to the experiences of several members of HM Forces, and this informed my understanding of the experience and treatment of veterans, past and present.

Dorothee Venn helped me with a sensitive translation of the wording in German war cemeteries, for which I am very grateful.

For detailed information about the questions in the 1911 Census I turned to Ruth Boreham. Her knowledge of the period and about suffragettes in Edinburgh is second to none.

David Blaikie of David Blaikie Architects assisted with information about the construction of my imaginary house.

Wendy Hough told me about the need for buy-to-let mortgages when renting property.

Susan Masterton gave me invaluable legal advice.