Janet Todd is one of the most respected critics in the world of early women writers, having written thirteen books on the subject and edited a great many more.

She is the General Editor of the CAMBRIDGE EDITION OF THE WORKS OF JANE AUSTEN (2005 – 2008) in nine volumes, and is also the editor of the COMPLETE LETTERS OF MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT (Penguin, 2003; Columbia University Press, 2004). She is the author of two definitive biographies: THE SECRET LIFE OF APHRA BEHN (Rutgers University Press, 1997) and MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT: A Revolutionary Life (Columbia University Press, 2000). 

Her most recent book, DEATH AND THE MAIDENS: Fanny Wollstonecraft and the Shelley Circle, was published by Counterpoint Books in 2007.

She is the president of Lucy Cavendish College, a college of the University of Cambridge for women over 21.