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The girls' name Grace fell out of fashion in the 1930s but has recently become very popular again.
Journalist Grace Dent sets out to discover what makes her name – and the notion - so captivating, by exploring the modern state of grace.

Grace's Nan once told her she was related to real-life Victorian heroine, Grace Darling. It was the first time Grace sensed her name had enviable properties, after years of wanting to be called Joanne.

The word 'grace' is associated with more than 20 different meanings and phrases.

From Greek mythology to Grace Jones, via philosophical reasoning and a morning at The Royal Ballet, Grace reflects on the modern merits of charm, poise and elegance as she searches for inner calm and acceptance in a more secular age.

With contributions from Olivia 'damegrace' Cowley, a soloist with The Royal Ballet; names expert, Carole Hough; Grace Kelly fan and film studies academic, Stella Bruzzi; philosophy professor Miranda Fricker; and Grace Maxwell, whose memoir Falling and Laughing documents the recovery of her husband from a near-fatal brain haemorrhage.

Producer: Nick Baker

A Testbed production for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2014.