Eleanor Houghton is a writer, illustrator and historical costume consultant. She read English Literature at the University of Oxford before setting up her own business as a milliner. As a result of a serious illness, Eleanor‘s life took an unexpected turn and brought her back to the world of academia. In 2014, she gained a first class MA degree in Eighteenth Century Studies, before being awarded a full Wolfson Doctoral Scholarship in History for her PhD research into Charlotte Brontë’s extant clothing collection.

Eleanor’s work is highly innovative and wholly interdisciplinary. Her expert knowledge of eighteenth and nineteenth century social history, fashion and literature mean that she is often called upon to work as costume consultant for film and television, novelists, museums and curators. Eleanor’s detailed costume illustrations are sold in numerous outlets, including Chawton House Museum and the Brontë Parsonage Museum.