Torva snaps up lawyer Wistrich's 'page-turning fight against misogynistic system'

Torva has acquired Sister in Law by the human rights lawyer Harriet Wistrich.

Publisher Susanna Wadeson pre-empted British Commonwealth Rights with Becky Thomas of the Lewinsohn Literary Agency as part of a “significant” five-figure deal. The Transworld imprint will publish on 2nd May 2024.

The blurb reads: “In her truly remarkable legal career of more than three decades, solicitor Harriet Wistrich has been at the forefront of some historic and ground-breaking legal victories fighting the corner of people from all walks of life who have been let down by our legal system.”

In “Sister in Law: Fighting for Justice in a System Designed by Men she tells the shocking stories of some of those who have come to her for assistance, among them Sally Challen, who went on to win her appeal to overturn her conviction for the murder of her coercively controlling husband; the victims of taxi driver and serial rapist John Worboys and a pioneering group of the women caught up in the ‘spy cops’ scandal.

“Frequently working with women who have survived male violence or abuse, sometimes with the bereaved families of those who did not survive, Wistrich’s work has led her to challenge the police, the CPS, government departments and the prison and immigration detention system.”

A commentator in the media on violence against women and their treatment by the state and our criminal justice system, Wistrich is a founder and director of the Centre for Women’s Justice, a recent Liberty Human Rights Lawyer of the Year, Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year and also Law Society Personality of the Year. She was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws by Kent University in 2022.

Wistrich said: “Misogyny in the police, violence against women and a criminal justice system in freefall are topics rarely out of the news these days and whilst despair or avoidance may be the initial response, stories of survival and legal battles to hold wrong-doers accountable can provide a tonic.

“I am delighted to be publishing my first book with Torva, recounting long struggles for justice, demystifying complex legal processes and providing a taste of snatching victory from the jaws of extreme adversity. And I am looking forward to meeting booksellers and welcoming new readers to the subject.”

Wadeson said: “Harriet Wistrich is a legend – pioneering, brave and determined to change the world into a fairer, better place. Her book is a real page-turner: fascinating, shocking, entirely persuasive of the need to fight against a misogynistic system and that fighting can deliver change.

“I feel fiercely proud to have her book Sister in Law headlining on Torva’s 2024 list.”