This book provides an engaging introduction to economics through a literary lens. Drawing on
writers such as James Joyce George Eliot Edith Wharton Jane Austen Charlotte Bronte and
Elizabeth Gaskell each chapter is framed around a quote from a classic text of English
literature that helps tease out a key economic concept and demonstrate its broader relevance.
While rigorous the book is virtually free of technical language and aims to give a concise
overview of all the main topics in contemporary economics - from supply and demand pricing
labour markets externalities and game theory to environmental and behavioural economics
fiscal policy and business cycles modern approaches to macroeconomics and economic growth.
Interweaving literary examples with easy-to-follow explanations and reflective tasks the book
takes an interdisciplinary approach to economics and literature that requires no prior
knowledge in either camp but which illuminates patterns of real-world behaviour observed by
novelists and economists alike. This concise and accessible book will be a valuable tool for
students embarking on introductory economics courses economics modules in business studies
and interdisciplinary courses more broadly as well as the general reader interested in
building their knowledge of economics.
