Karen Hardman gained a BA in English at Queen Mary, University of London. In 2005 she completed the MRes at CELL. She recently completed her AHRC funded PhD thesis, 'A Life from Letters: John Egerton, First Earl of Bridgewater 1625-1642'; a nuanced biographical account of a seventeenth century peer drawn from close readings of his manuscript correspondence.

Karen's principal research interests are centred in the field of early modern history, culture and literature, with particular emphasis upon correspondence and the exploration of archival manuscript sources. She is especially interested in scholarly biographical writing, the interaction between individuals of different class, and the relationship between local centres of power and London.