*A Waterstones Best Book of 2023**A BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week**A New York Times Editor's Pick*'Terrific' SARAH DUNANT'Lively and intriguing ... You'll never look at Renaissance portraits in the same way' MAGGIE O'FARRELL'Highlights a rich tapestry of female experience that encompasses everyone from artisans to aristocrats ...' THE TIMESThis is the story of the Renaissance, but not as you know it. Discover overlooked and silenced women from this extraordinary moment in history and how they forged opportunities for creativity, community and resistance.

From the bedchamber to the court, they give us an intimate window into what life was really like - and hold a mirror up to our contemporary obsession with how we look. 'A witty and engaging history of cosmetics and beauty ... lavishly illustrated and hugely entertaining' IRISH TIMES'A total eye-opener, I loved it' NUALA McGOVERN