Economica

A Global History of Women, Wealth, and Power

Contributors

By Victoria Bateman

On Sale
Sep 30, 2025
Page Count
336 pages
Publisher
Seal Press
ISBN-13
9781541606067

The story of how women made the world rich 
 
How many female entrepreneurs, economic revolutionaries, merchants, and industrialists can you name? You would be forgiven for thinking that, until very recently, there were none at all.  
 
But what about Phryne, the richest woman in ancient Athens, who offered to pay to rebuild the walls of Thebes after the city was razed by Alexander the Great? Or what about Priscilla Wakefield, the writer who set up the first English bank for women and children? And, just as important, what about the everyday women who, paid only a pittance, labored for the profit of others? 
 
From the most successful women of their day to those who struggled to make ends meet, Economica takes you on a journey that begins in the Stone Age and ends in the twenty-first century, spanning the world’s historic centers of prosperity: Egypt, Mesopotamia, Peru, the Indus Valley, the Roman Empire, the Islamic Empire, China, Europe, and the United States. By shining a light on the women whose contributions to the economy have been hidden for far too long, Economica is more than a history of women—it is a more accurate economic history of us all. 

Formats and Prices

Price

$30.00

Price

$40.00 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. Hardcover $30.00 $40.00 CAD
  2. ebook $18.99 $24.99 CAD

Victoria Bateman

About the Author

Victoria Bateman has taught at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, most recently as the director of studies in economics at Gonville & Caius College. She is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Arts and author of The Sex Factor and Naked Feminism. She lives in Kent, UK.  

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