Economica

'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? That women's production was, for much of human history, confined to reproduction? Economica shows that women have always been at the heart of economic progress, as entrepreneurs, merchants and industrialists - from Phryne, the richest woman in Ancient Athens, to Ching Shih, a sex-worker turned pirate who controlled trade in the South China Sea. Author Victoria Bateman also highlights the amazing stories of female workers who built the Pyramids, traded on the Silk Road and dominated London's medieval breweries.
Spanning the past twelve millennia, from the Stone Age to the present day, Economica rewrites our understanding of women's role in the economy, and tells a more accurate history of us all. 'Victoria Bateman's revelatory and compelling new book puts women at the very heart of mankind's economic history. Economica should help ensure that's where they will remain' - BEN CHU, BBC 'A must-read for anyone interested in women's history and economic justice' - AMANDA FOREMAN, author of Georgiana and A World on Fire

Victoria Bateman is author of the critically acclaimed Naked Feminism: Breaking the Cult of Female Modesty and The Sex Factor: How Women Made the West Rich. 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. Victoria is the winner of the 2026 Hajnal Prize for Excellence in Economic History.