Book Launch Spotlight: The Graces: The Extraordinary Untold Lives of Women at the Restoration Court, by Breeze Barrington

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

A spellbinding work of history that uncovers the inner lives and work of Maria of Modena and her 'graces', the extraordinary women who practiced art, poetry and politics within the misogyny 

of the Restoration court.

In 1673, fifteen-year-old Maria d'Este travelled from Italy to marry James, Duke of York, the future King of England and a man twenty-five years her senior. Thrust from a pious life on the path to become a nun, at the debauched court of Charles II she set about recreating the world she'd left behind - a world where women were highly educated, exercised power and celebrated art and artists with concentrated patronage.

The Graces resurrects the life of Maria, later Mary of Modena, and those of the extraordinary young women she surrounded herself with at the Restoration court. From Sarah Jennings, later Sarah Churchill, keen politician and 'favourite' of Queen Anne, to revered poet Anne Finch and founder of legendary literary salon Hortense Mancini, these were women who defied the conventions of their time and the forces of misogyny working against them. 

The era they lived through would be one of the most tumultuous England had seen: one where parliament would invite a foreign power in the form of William of Orange to invade England, depose its king, and risk thrusting the country back into civil war. What is much less well-known is that within this world existed another: a world of female friendship, learning and artistic endeavour. The Graces is that story.

“At last, some of the most fascinating, important, yet overlooked characters from the later Stuart court have found their champion in Breeze Barrington. This superb book weaves history, politics, literature and art together with real originality. ” — Bendor Grosvenor, Author of 'The Invention of British Art'

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About the Author

Dr Breeze Barrington is a cultural historian specialising in the artistic cultures of the 17th century, with particular focus on women’s history and female artists. Her PhD, on the artistic cultures of the early Stuart court, was awarded in 2021, from Queen Mary, University of London. She teaches literature at the University of Cambridge and has previously taught courses in seventeenth century literature and culture at Queen Mary, University of London as well as Biography/Non-Fiction on the prestigious Creative Writing degree at the University of East Anglia. Breeze is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Find out more at https://www.breezebarrington.com/