Clare Brant

Professor Clare Brant is a Professor of Eighteenth-Century Literature and Culture at King's College London, co-directing the Network for Life-Writing Research. She specializes in life writing, eighteenth-century culture, and interdisciplinary studies at the intersection of literature and science. Her research explores topics such as balloon history, underwater narratives, and smell studies, with notable projects including Strandlines and Underwater Lives.

She holds leadership roles as Series Editor for Palgrave’s Studies in Life Writing, co-directs the Centre for Life-Writing Research, and edits the European Journal of Life Writing. Her work has been exhibited, such as the Dear Diary exhibition (2017), and she has contributed to public media, including BBC’s The One Show.

Brant has secured major grants including an ERC-funded Ego Media project (2014–2019) and a Leverhulme Trust award for Underwater Lives. Her awards include the ESSE Book Award (2008) and election to Academia Europaea (2022).

Her teaching spans eighteenth-century literature, gender studies, and life writing, with a focus on integrating research and pedagogy. She actively supervises PhD students in eighteenth-century topics and selected contemporary themes.