Illuminating . . . Barrington, who is a specialist on art, writes beautifully about rooms, clothes, tapestries and paintings . . . The womens lives are reconstructed through the little that has survived fragments of manuscripts, a panel from a series of paintings, a music score . . . As books about the seventeenth century enjoy a deserved boom, The Graces focus on women and court culture is timely -- Alice Hunt * The Times * The Graces is impressively original and ingenious, not just in Barringtons use of overlooked continental sources and her fresh readings of better-known British ones, but also in the whole form of the book: an inventive blend of biography (Mary of Modenas) with group biography, which brings the talented women of the Restoration Court gracefully to life -- OPHELIA FIELD, author of The Favourite Vivid and moving, The Graces puts women at the centre. Resurrecting the brave yet forgotten queen, Maria of Modena, Breeze Barrington also brings to life the women around her women who, in surprisingly creative ways, navigated their dangerous political times with intelligence, artistic flair and, above all, with grace. Elegant and eye-opening -- LEAH REDMOND CHANG, Women's Prize-longlisted author of Young Queens In this sparkling study of Mary of Modena and her circle, Britains only Italian queen is brought vividly to life. Breeze Barrington has rescued her from centuries of condescension and shown us a brave, intelligent and cultured woman who forged her own identity amid the capricious and vulgar world of the Restoration Court -- LINDA PORTER, author of Katherine the Queen 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
