1-800-1800: Maria Edgeworth invented political economy
Yes, you read that episode year correctly! We are taking it back to the first year of the nineteenth century this week. For this major year, we read Jeanna Smailek’s new book The Invisible Hand of Maria Edgeworth: How a Nineteenth-Century Novelist Taught the World Economics. Smialek argues that Edgeworth pioneered the field of political economy by “hid[ing] her version of economics in storybooks,” earning her a place among the greats of early economic theory, including Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Thomas Malthus. Edgeworth was a prolific writer, publishing over two dozen novels and short story collections between 1795 and 1848. She was encouraged to write by her father, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, an absolute kook who Smialek describes as “a law student turned philosopher turned gentleman farmer who would go on to have four wives, twenty-two children, and a lifelong interest in seemingly every idea the Scottish and English Enlightenments had to offer.” Together, Maria and Richard implemented the ideas of Adam Smith, the author of The Wealth of Nations (1776), on their estate in Ireland. In 1800, Maria published Castle Rackrent, a rollicking story of life on an Irish estate narrated by Thady Quirk, a servant to the foolish Rackrent family who utterly mismanage their property and tenants. After reading Castle Rackrent, King George III apparently commented, “I know something of my Irish subjects” Maria Edgeworth was read by monarchs (Queen Victoria was raised on Edgeworth’s children fiction), and was one of the best-selling and most famous authors of her generation, at a time when novels were a major form of mass media. Despite her prolific career, Edgeworth is often overlooked today, perhaps because she infused her fiction with complex ideas about political economy. Listen and get a taste of Edgeworth’s world! This episode was edited by Jack Gorman. If you like 1-800-1800, subscribe to Mandylion’s substack to hear paid bonus episodes! If you want more… Jeanna Smialek, The Invisible Hand of Maria Edgeworth: How a Nineteenth-Century Novelist Taught the World Economics, 2026.Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776. Order the book or read online for free.Maria Edgeworth, Castle Rackrent, 1800. Order the book or read online for free.Maria Edgeworth, Belinda, 1801. Order the book or read online for free. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mandylion.substack.com/subscribe
