Illuminating . . . Barrington, who is a specialist on art, writes beautifully about rooms, clothes, tapestries and paintings . . . The women's 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

Deftly researched . . . A much-needed retelling

Annalisa Nicholson, History Today

The Graces is impressively original and ingenious, not just in Barrington's 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 Modena's) 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, Britain's 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