We are rather behind the times but definitely wanted to note the passing of Brian Southam, Austen scholar and former chairman of the Jane Austen Society. The Telegraph’s obituary has a rundown of the contributions he made to Austen scholarship. If you have not read Jane Austen and the Navy, do so, even if you aren’t into the Age of Sail; it has deeply interesting insights into several of the novels, particularly Emma and Persuasion, that have greatly colored our own thinking.