The Walnut Tree : Women by Kate Morgan

A Waterstones Best History Book 2024

'Compulsively readable' – Times Literary Supplement

'An outstanding work' – Philippa Gregory

'A powerful narrative told with frankness and sensitivity' Helen Fry, historian and author of Women In Intelligence

 'A woman, a dog and a walnut tree, the more they are beaten, the better they’ll be.' So went the proverb quoted by a prominent MP in the Houses of Parliament in 1853. His words – intended ironically in a debate about a rise in attacks on women – summed up the prevailing attitude of the day, in which violence against women was waved away as a part and parcel of modern living – a chilling seam of misogyny that had polluted both parliament and the law. But were things about to change? In this vivid and essential work of historical non-fiction, Kate Morgan explores the legal campaigns, test cases and individual injustices of the Victorian and Edwardian eras which fundamentally re-shaped the status of women under British law.

These are seen through the untold stories of women whose cases became cornerstones of our modern legal system and shine a light on the historical inequalities of the law. We hear of the uniquely abusive marriage which culminated in the dramatic story of the ‘Clitheroe wife abduction’; of the domestic tragedies which changed the law on domestic violence; the controversies surrounding the Contagious Diseases Act and the women who campaigned to abolish it; and the real courtroom stories behind notorious murder cases such as the ‘Camden Town Murder’. Exploring the 19th- and early 20th Century legal history that influenced the modern-day stances on issues such as domestic abuse, sexual violence and divorce, The Walnut Treelifts the lid on the shocking history of women under British law – and what it means for women today.

Format:Paperback / softback 320 pages, (1x8pp plates)

Publisher:HarperCollins Publishers
Imprint:Mudlark
ISBN:9780008559618
Published:13 Feb 2025
Classifications:United Kingdom, Great Britain, c 1800 to c 1900, True stories of heroism, endurance & survival, Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, Social & cultural history, Sexual abuse & harassment, Domestic violence, Feminism & feminist theory, Gender & the law, Legal history, Offences against the person