Economics as Literature

A rich vein of economics writings which runs through the nineteenth century and beyond is now largely ignored because its authors were women or because they favoured literary over scientific forms. Economics as Literature re-examines some of the most interesting texts from within this tradition.
The works considered include:
*stories (eg by Maria Edgeworth and Harriet Martineau)
*dialogues (eg by Jane Marcet and Thomas de Quincey)
*'imaginative' writing (eg from Ruskin and Francis Edgeworth)
*Keynes' General Theory which is locked within a nineteenth century 'tradition' of uniting science and art.

Willie Henderson is Senior Lecturer at the School of Continuing Studies, University of Birmingham. He works on African studies, and on education and language in economics.