Which book would Victoria Bateman persuade you to take to a desert island too?

What book… 

Victoria Bateman is a writer, economist and historian

… are you reading now?

Mishal Husain’s Broken Threads – a captivating combination of biography and history, telling the story of her four grandparents amid the partition of India. But unlike so much dry non-fiction, the story that underpins it – both heartbreaking and life-affirming – and the quality of Husain’s writing means it rivals the best novels for sheer emotional impact.

… would you take to a desert island?

For their wit and entertainment value, it’s difficult to beat Jane Austen, so I’d use my powers of Persuasion (pun intended) to –hopefully – convince you to offer me her entire collected works.

As the eldest of three sisters, I’ve always enjoyed Austen’s characterisation of sisterly life and the rural backdrop would remind me of home.

I’m a big fan of period dramas – I sometimes work as a historical consultant advising on everything from when electric lighting was introduced to whether bedrooms would have had a waste bin. But that means I tend to read the classics with a work hat on, so it would be a treat to read them for pleasure.

Victoria devoured this story of a little girl – about the same age as her at the time – with magical abilities

… first gave you the reading bug?

I remember being snuggled up in bed, devouring the story of a little girl – about the same age as me at the time – with magical abilities. It was, of course, Roald Dahl’s Matilda.

I also fondly remember The Worst Witch series of books by Jill Murphy – the Harry Potter equivalents of their day – and loved any books set in girls’ boarding schools, particularly if they featured midnight feasts.

Growing up in Oldham, where I attended my local state schools, the fictional world of pinafores, eccentric teachers, jolly hockey sticks and out-of-hours antics – a world free of parental supervision – seemed ever so exciting.

… left you cold?

Karl Marx’s Das Kapital which, despite being hailed by socialists as the blueprint for a utopian and equal society, is one of the most sexist books I’ve ever read.

So many economics books have mistakenly left readers believing that women weren’t central to economic growth. This is why I wrote Economica – the first economic history of the world to explicitly include women (who are, after all, half the population).

Economica by Victoria Bateman (Headline, £12.99) is out now in paperback.