The daughter of a moderately successful farmer, Viva moved to the city at age 20 to enter service as a maid in the London home of her family’s landlord. While she was well-prepared for the early mornings and long days, she had not anticipated how mundane and spirit-crushing service could be. She muddled through for about a decade, rising in the ranks, and eventually landed as the ladies maid to the Viscountess Pevensey. Her new mistress was bold and exciting, and encouraged Viva to speak her mind freely. She must have said something right, for when the Countess took the helm of the Review, she offered Viva a position there. Writing under the pseudonym “E.V. Nevin,” she answers inquires (and sometimes makes them up if the week has been slow) offering down-to-earth and practical advice about everything from interpersonal relationships to how best to fry an egg.

The widow of a struggling member of the gentry and daughter of a baron not much better off, Olive has known all her life that if she was to be properly supported, she would have to ensure her future herself. While her father squandered their family money, his title still opened doors for her, and now that she is staring down a pitiful annuity following her husband’s death, she has seized the opportunity to become the revamped London Review society reporter. Writing anonymously under the name Lady Tattleton, she has been perfecting a balance of building friendships amongst the nobility whilst projecting an aura of harmlessness so that they confess their deepest secrets. Her columns are the most popular in the paper.