DO YOU REMEMBER...Dear reader

With problem pages as popular as ever, we pay tribute to the agony aunts of yesteryear

- AMELIA JONES

Advice columns have long been a staple of women's magazines and newspapers, but their roots stretch back further than you may realise. Problem pages first appeared in 1691, when English publisher John Dunton – perplexed by his own affair – invited readers to send in questions.

By the mid 18th century, women had come to the fore – not surprising after Dunton's advice to a lonely woman to get down to the docks where she might find a lusty sailor!

Today, problem pages still thrive, though their voice and character has shifted. Here, we remember some of the 20th century's favourite agony aunts, who showed us that a problem shared is a problem halved.

Mary Marryat

Woman's Weekly's famous, long-term resident agony aunt was called Mrs Marryat, but later started to use her first name. Whether there was ever a real Mary is now unclear, but certainly in subsequent years the column was written by more than one contributor, the last 'Mary Marryat' being relationship counsellor Jenny Hare, who dispensed advice for 17 years. Marryat's early 1950s advice steered readers towards patience, endurance and social harmony.

Latterly, she was highly valued as a sympathetic friend, offering emotional and practical advice.