The Walnut Tree 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.
‘Throughout this fine and eminently, even compulsively readable book, Morgan explores the greatest of all legal fictions: that the law applies equally to all… The Walnut Tree is a fascinating historical excursion and a powerful demand for change, moving seamlessly from history to current events, and back, to show not only that the past is not a foreign country, but that most of the time it is not even past’ – Judith Flanders, Times Literary Supplement
Kate Morgan qualified as a solicitor in 2008. She worked as a senior in-house lawyer in the water industry for a number of years. Kate's first book, Murder: The Biography, was published in April 2021.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780008559618 |
| ISBN 10 | 0008559619 |
| Title | The Walnut Tree |
| Author | Kate Morgan |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Year published | 2025-02-13 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |