Illustrations of Political Economy, Volume 1

Harriet Martineau

Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.5 stars; 1 review)

Hugely popular at their time of publication, Harriet Martineau’s Illustrations of Political Economy sought to turn the abstract principles of political economy into engaging, entertaining, and fundamentally humane works of social fiction. Through these dramatizations of dense economic theories, Martineau tried to educate and empower her readers, making even the most arcane concepts digestible and comprehendible to the widest possible audience (many of whom, such as women and the working class, were often excluded from engaging with these ideas via more conventional means). Each volume contains a different series of short, didactic novellas that "illustrate" a different set of economic principles, offering audiences tales that are equal parts riveting and edifying. Their publication caused a minor sensation in Victorian England.

This is the first of nine volumes and contains the following short novellas: Life in the Wilds (a tale about self-sufficiency, cooperation, and colonialism that dramatizes an attack against English settlers in South Africa), The Hill and the Valley (a story of industrial strife set in a Welsh iron works that touches on topics of industry, commerce, and Luddism), and Brooke and Brooke Farm (a tale about the enclosure of public land set in the English countryside). (Summary by ChuckW) (11 hr 54 min)