{"product_id":"9781526663788","title":"The Graces: The Extraordinary Untold Lives of Women at the Restoration Court","description":"Author: Barrington, Breeze\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781526663788\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Bloomsbury\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 18 Nov 2025\u003cbr\u003ePages: 352 Format: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Impressively original and ingenious . . . Brings the talented women of the Restoration Court gracefully to life' OPHELIA FIELD, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Favourite\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eA spellbinding work of history that uncovers the inner lives and work of Maria of Modena and her 'graces', the extraordinary women who practiced art, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003epoetry and politics within the misogyny of the Restoration court.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Graces \u003c\/i\u003eresurrects 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. \u003ci\u003eThe Graces \u003c\/i\u003eis that story.","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46643228999838,"sku":"UBD-9781526663788","price":49.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781526663788.jpg?v=1774484774","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781526663788","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}