Tribute to Brian Southam

Brian Southam 1931-2010: A Tribute

At a branch meeting  recently to celebrate Trafalgar Day we took time to pay respect to the memory of Brian Southam*,  author of the landmark study Jane Austen and the Navy (2000,2005)  and renowned for his scholarship  and publications pertaining to Jane Austen’s early manuscripts.

Brian came to Halifax in September 2005 when Jane Austen Society UK held a conference on “Jane Austen and the North Atlantic” in Halifax, Nova Scotia with the local assistance of our branch. As one of the keynote speakers Brian gave a lively and informative presentation titled “Jane Austen in North America: Fact and Fiction”. He also shared his extensive knowledge of Jane Austen and the Navy in the course of informal exchanges during the week. In fact, those of us who had the pleasure of meeting with Brian found him to be a not only a fine scholar but a witty and amusing conversationalist.

Brian was delighted to be in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Coincidentally, the Halifax conference occurred on the eve of the publication of the revised edition of his Jane Austen and the Navy.  

Brian’s conference paper, along with those of the other speakers, Sarah Emsley, Peter Graham and Sheila Kindred, appears in the volume Jane Austen and the North Atlantic edited by Sarah Emsley and is available from the Jane Austen Society UK. 

http://www.janeaustensoci.freeuk.com/pages/publications1.htm

*Photo courtesy of The Guardian.co.uk.,  November 4, 2010