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Economica

A global history of women, wealth and power
Brief Description
THE UNTOLD STORY OF HOW WOMEN MADE THE WORLD WEALTHY Humanity's journey from poverty to prosperity is filled with men who have become household names. But how many female entrepreneurs, merchants, and industrialists can you name? Economica places women at the centre of the story of... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3600
Elsewhere:
$3999
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A groundbreaking economic history of the world told through stories of the forgotten women who powered it.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

THE UNTOLD STORY OF HOW WOMEN MADE THE WORLD WEALTHY

Humanity's journey from poverty to prosperity is filled with men who have become household names. But how many female entrepreneurs, merchants, and industrialists can you name?

Economica places women at the centre of the story of economic growth. Starting in the Stone Age and continuing to the present day, it takes the reader through the key economic milestones of the past twelve millenniaβ€”from the birth of farming to the advent of computingβ€”all told through the experiences of women as well as men.

Historian Victoria Bateman weaves a thrilling, globe-spanning narrative that proves women weren't 'missing' from economic life, they were merely hidden from view. We discover the female workers who helped to build the Great Pyramid of Giza, and to plumb the city of ancient Rome; the silk weavers who made a vital contribution to the development of the Silk Road and global trade; the women who dominated London's brewing trade during medieval times; and the brave twentieth-century pioneers who fought to make our economies not just richer but fairer.

Economica rewrites our understanding of women's role in the economy, and tells a more accurate economic history of us all.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781035415786

Publisher: Headline Publishing Group

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 25 November 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Headline Press

Illustration: 5 maps, 1x8 page picture section

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 540g

Pages: 432

About the Author

Victoria Bateman is author of the critically acclaimed Naked Feminism: Breaking the Cult of Female Modesty (Polity, 2023) and The Sex Factor: How Women Made the West Rich (Polity, 2019). She is resident economic historian on the BBC Radio 4 series Understand: The Economy and acts as a historical consultant to a major television production company. She has taught at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, including as Director of Studies in Economics and Lecturer in Economic History. Victoria has been profiled by The Times and Daily Mail, has written for national and international press, including the Guardian, i, Telegraph and Bloomberg, and has appeared on numerous occasions on radio and television.

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  • Naked Feminism
    Is it right that, despite the promises of feminism, women’s bodies remain at the mercy of state, society and religion? Should a scantily clad woman, or a promiscuous one, be worth less than a fully covered woman, or a chaste one? Are being sexy and being smart really mutually exclusive? Can a woman be both body and brain? Victoria Bateman...
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    'Erudite, ambitious and richly global in scope' - PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads 'This book sets a new standard in economic history' - TIM HARFORD, author of How To Make the World Add Up How many times have we been told that the working woman is a modern phenomenon? That men were responsible for the prosperity of humanity?...
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