MY WRITING focuses on women and power. I was trained as a literature scholar, and my books draw on my extensive research in the archives and in rare book libraries. Before turning to writing full time, I was a tenured professor of French Literature and Culture at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. I have also been an Honorary Senior Research Associate at University College London.

My most recent book, Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power (Bloomsbury; Farrar, Straus and Giroux) was named among the ‘Best Books of 2023’ by The New Yorker and ‘Best Biographies of 2023’ by BookRiot. Young Queens was longlisted for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction and was a finalist for The Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Biography).

I live with my husband, three children, and two dogs in Washington, DC, and spend as much time as possible in London and Paris, my favorite cities.