The Walnut TreeA 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 theyll 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