● The Invisible Hand of Maria Edgeworth: How a Nineteenth-Century Novelist Taught the World Economics
Jeanna Smialek
Interview with author via Marketplace
You may have learned in grade school that Adam Smith originated many of the ideas behind modern economics in his book “The Wealth of Nations.” Maybe you’ve also heard about Thomas Robert Malthus or John Maynard Keynes, economists who are also remembered for their contributions to the field. But chances are, you probably haven’t heard of Maria Edgeworth — at least not for her contribution to economics.
Edgeworth was a Regency-era novelist who, at one point, was England’s most popular writer.
“Jane Austen was a Maria Edgeworth fangirl,” said Jeanna Smialek, Brussels bureau chief at The New York Times. “She’s obsessed with Maria Edgeworth and is sending her letters and being like, ‘please review my books.’’’
But Smialek also found that Edgeworth was deeply engaged in economics, corresponding with peers like David Ricardo and Thomas Malthus, and working the ideas from Adam Smith into her novels.