Yesterday I received an email from Rafael Galvão de Almeida, a graduate student who is doing a research project on economists as fictional protagonists – believe it or not, there is such a sub-genre. Had I read [amazon_link id=”0552159336″ target=”_blank” ]Making Money[/amazon_link] from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series? he asked, having read my post The Economist as Hero.

No, so I bustled upstairs to the teenage sons’ extensive Terry Pratchett library to retrieve it. Coincidentally, the new catalogue from my publisher, Princeton University Press, arrived with news of a new Marshall Jevons detective story, [amazon_link id=”0691164169″ target=”_blank” ]The Mystery of the Invisible Hand[/amazon_link]. The books in this series aim to bring economic theory to life by the plot – apparently it’s Coase and auction theory in this art market novel. Russ Roberts’ novels [amazon_link id=”0691143358″ target=”_blank” ]The Price of Everything[/amazon_link] and [amazon_link id=”0262681358″ target=”_blank” ]The Invisible Heart[/amazon_link] are an alternative, enjoyable way to imbibe a little economics without even noticing.

Economic fiction

Update: here via @MikeBenchCapon is James Andow’s fantastic list of philosophers in fiction – far, far more than the economists: https://www.academia.edu/5590924/Philosophers_in_Fiction