I studied at New Hall, University of Cambridge, one of only three colleges which then admitted women at that university. After doctoral research at the Warburg Institute, University of London, I taught at University of Hertfordshire (formerly Hatfield Polytechnic), Middlesex University, and Aberystwyth University in Wales. I was Belle van Zuylen Visiting Professor at Utrecht University, and Gildersleeve Visiting Professor, Barnard College, Columbia University. Most recently, I was visiting professor at the University of Paris, Diderot, and at Paderborn University in Germany. I have held fellowships at the Huntington Library, Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton), Wolfson College, Cambridge, and the Institute for Intellectual History at the University of St Andrews.