What was the preferred method of suicide among women in 1920s America? My fictional culture is somewhat analogous to it, though not exactly the same, so I'm trying to figure out what the popular way of offing oneself was in the real 1920s as inspiration for this situation.
The main problem is that my fictional society has not come upon firearms yet, so having her shoot herself is right out (and I don't know if people were really big on that then anyway, I can't find anything on it). Preferrably I want something quiet and in-home, because her son is supposed to come home from work and find her body there in the house.
She would be...oh jeez, comparable to late 30s/early 40s? I'm sure age brackets would make a difference. Honestly I want to stay away from self-hanging (which seems to be the second most popular method after shooting oneself), but that seems to leave me with just overdose/poisoning or wrist-slitting (which isn't actually particularly effective). I'd like some options or at least some historical statistics to judge from here.
[Edit] Thanks for all the answers, it's very good stuff. Looks like I get to take my pick of poisonous substance (I'm still liking that hat paint option).
