The Graces

In 1673, fifteen-year-old Maria d''Este traveled 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. is a spellbinding narrative drawing from re-discovered letters to and from Maria, later known as Mary of Modena, that resurrects her life 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. In this version of history, the lives of Maria and the women around her are forgotten.If people know of Maria of Modena today, it is most likely as the Catholic queen who, by giving King James II a male, Catholic heir, precipitated the Glorious Revolution. In reality she was one of the most cultured people - man or woman - ever to sit upon the English throne. Her world was a far cry from the Restoration court as we have come to know it, with its mistresses, palaces of debauchery and risque entertainment. What is much less known is that within this world existed another: a world of female friendship, learning and artistic endeavour. The Graces is that story.>

Auteur

Breeze Barrington is a cultural historian specialising in the artistic cultures of the seventeenth century, with particular focus on women's history and female artists. As an arts writer and critic, she has written for outlets including the Financial Times and the TLS, and has appeared as a guest on podcasts including History Hack and Talking Tudors. She has also worked as a consultant for Working Title and Monumental Pictures. She currently teaches literature at the University of Cambridge and is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Texte du rabat

In 1673, fifteen-year-old Maria d'Este travels from Northern Italy to marry James, Duke of York, the future King of England and a man 25 years her senior. Thrust from a pious life on the path to be a nun, in England she set about recreating the world she'd left behind - one where women were highly educated, exercised power and, in particular, celebrated art and artists with concentrated patronage.

The Graces is a spellbinding narrative drawing from newly discovered letters to and from Maria, later known as Mary of Modena, that examine her life and the lives of her maids of honour; three talented, lively and intelligent young women in the Jacobite court. Mary's graces were Anne Killigrew, prodigiously talented painter and poet, Anne Finch, revered poet, and Sarah Jennings, later Sarah Churchill, keen politician and ?favourite' of Queen Anne. These women were keenly aware of the forces of misogyny and patriarchy working against them, but defied the conventions of their time thanks to Mary's relentless support.

Mary's extraordinary intellect, activism and patronage have all but been forgotten due to vicious court rumours perpetuated by history - but here, cultural historian Breeze Barrington restores Mary's legacy and the legacy of the women she championed. The Graces is an alluring insight into the lives of four extraordinary women whose accomplishments have been lost to history.