[1] She studied geography at the University of Keele,[1] graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1967.
[3] In a move highly unusual at the time, she studied history at the University of Pennsylvania and completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1975.
[2][3] During the three years she lived in the United States, she experienced the race riots of the 1960s, the civil rights movement, and developed her interest in the early history of the United States and its racial complexities.
[2] In 2019, at its 133rd annual meeting, Wood was made an Honorary Foreign Member of the American Historical Association.
[5][6] Having had cancer,[1] Wood died on 3 September 2021 at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge: she was 76 years old.