ABSTRACT
Harriet Martineau is widely regarded as the most successful populariser of classical political economy. While she went on to greater success and recognition as a journalist and writer, however, interest in her views on theoretical political economy waned. Current attention to her work within economics is confined to those interested in the history of economic thought, dating back to the publication in 1958 of Mark Blaug’s book Ricardian Economics: A Historical Study in which he devoted a chapter entitled ‘Political Economy to be Read as Literature’. 1 This has been followed by work by others on Martineau’s popularisation of political economy, her impact on popular debates and her role in the struggle for the hearts and minds of Victorian middle and working-class readers. 2
