Carol trained as a social historian (MA, University of Lancaster, awarded with distinction) and as a teacher (Diploma in Education, University of Reading, also awarded with distinction). She has published extensively on the subjects of gender, education and women’s history in modern Britain. Her research has attracted a number of grants and awards in Britain and North America, (British Academy, ESRC, Spencer Foundation, Wellcome Trust). Her academic books in this field include 'No Distinction of Sex? Women in British Universities, 1870-1939', (U.C.L. Press, 1995), and 'Students: A Gendered History' (Routledge, 2006). Carol was awarded an honorary D.Litt from the University of Winchester in 2004 in recognition of her work on history and education. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

More recently Carol has established a reputation for engaging, scholarly histories reaching out to a general audience. There have been four of these to date:
'Glamour: Women, History, Feminism' (Zed Books, 2010, 2011) encompassed research on the history of perfume, cosmetics and the fur trade. The book explores the changing meaning of the word ‘glamour’, its relationship to fashion and femininity, and what glamour has meant to women.
'Girl Trouble: Panic and Progress in the History of Young Women', (Zed Books, 2013, 2014) focussed on media representations and moral panic about girlhood, asking whether young women should be seen as winners or losers in modern history.
'Heartthrobs: A History of Women and Desire' was published in the UK by Oxford University Press in February 2017.
'Love Lives, from Cinderella to Frozen' followed, also published by Oxford University Press, in 2021.

Carol is currently working on a book combining memoir and cultural history focussing on dress, entitled 'Appearances: Memory, History, Clothes'.