Sam Brown

Sam is a PhD student at University College London, where her work sheds light on encounters with the Arabic language in Tudor and Stuart England. Her research takes her to libraries and archives around the UK — including many that feature on the tour — and she has a particular interest in book history and provenance. From 2022-3 she was a research assistant on David Pearson’s Book Owners Online, and in 2024 she was a British Library-National Trust doctoral fellow, investigating the provenance of Arabic manuscripts in both collections. Prior to developing a love for old books, Sam gained a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Arabic and Islamic Studies from SOAS and embarked on a career in television, which saw her researching and producing documentaries for the BBC and other major broadcasters for nearly a decade. In 2018 she returned to academia to pursue her love of history, gaining a Master of Arts in Early Modern Studies from University College London. She assists Shane Carmody on ASA’s Great Libraries and Stately Homes of England tour.