Take a step back in time to the antebellum era with a special book talk and signing of The Letters of George Long Brown: A Yankee Merchant on Florida’s Antebellum Frontier by Florida Southern College professors James M. Denham and Keith L. Huneycutt. The book presents readers with the first in-depth look at the history of one of the most influential yet little-known regions in the antebellum South.
The event will be held on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m. in the Hollis Room. Those in attendance will have the opportunity to purchase The Letters of George Long Brown for a special one-time-only price of $30.
Set in pre-Civil War Florida, the book includes more than 70 previously unpublished letters from 23-year-old George Long Brown, a New England merchant who migrated his life and business to northern Florida in 1840. The letters showcase vignettes of Brown’s daily interactions, both personal and business-related, as well as commentaries on topics such as politics, slavery, fundamental religion, and town gossip. The carefully edited collection is an eyewitness account of the transformation of both community and industrial dynamics on the northern Florida frontier, providing key insights into the development of the state’s societal, political, and economic views and practices.
James M. Denham is a professor of history and director of the Lawton M. Chiles Jr. Center for Florida History at FSC. He is the author of several books, including Fifty Years of Justice: A History of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Denham and Keith L. Huneycutt, a professor of English at FSC, have worked together previously in various capacities, notably as coeditors of Echoes from a Distant Frontier: The Brown Sisters’ Correspondence from Antebellum Florida.
This event sponsored by FSC’s English and Modern Languages departments. For more information, email [email protected] or call 863-680-3001.
About Florida Southern College
Founded in 1883, Florida Southern College is the oldest private college in Florida. The College maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 70+ undergraduate programs and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, nursing, and physical therapy. Florida Southern has a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio; is an award-winning national leader in engaged learning; and boasts 30 NCAA Division II national championships. It is ranked among the top 10 Regional Universities in the South by U.S. News and World Report; and is included in The Princeton Review’s 385 Best Colleges, The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2018, and Forbes magazine’s America’s Top Colleges Guide. The College is committed to the development of the whole student through vibrant student life programs that prepare graduates to make a positive, consequential impact on society. FSC is conveniently located within an hour’s drive of both Orlando and Tampa. FSC is home to the world’s largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012. Named the “Most Beautiful Campus in the Nation” for two consecutive years by The Princeton Review and one of the nation’s “Ten College Campuses with the Best Architecture” by Architectural Digest, Florida Southern is an internationally-recognized place of beauty and academic excellence.