{"product_id":"9780008559618","title":"The Walnut Tree : Women, Violence and the Law - a Hidden History by Kate Morgan","description":"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.\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54926457569653,"sku":"9780008559618","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780008559618.jpg?v=1736948858","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/9780008559618","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}