{"product_id":"the-walnut-tree-by-kate-morgan-9780008559618","title":"The Walnut Tree","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA Waterstones Best History Book 2024\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Compulsively readable'\u003c\/em\u003e – \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'An outstanding work'\u003c\/strong\u003e – Philippa Gregory\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'A powerful narrative told with frankness and sensitivity'\u003c\/strong\u003e – Helen Fry, historian and author of \u003cem\u003eWomen In Intelligence\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'A woman, a dog and a walnut tree, the more they are beaten, the better they’ll be.'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSo 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?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe 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’.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eExploring the 19th- and early 20th Century legal history that influenced the modern-day stances on issues such as domestic abuse, sexual violence and divorce, \u003cem\u003eThe Walnut Tree\u003c\/em\u003e lifts the lid on the shocking history of women under British law – and what it means for women today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47603326484716,"sku":"9780008559618","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780008559618-the-walnut-tree.jpg?v=1778059919","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/the-walnut-tree-by-kate-morgan-9780008559618","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}