Sam Slick is a character created in 1835 by

Thomas Chandler Haliburton Thomas Chandler Haliburton (17 December 1796 – 27 August 1865) was a Nova Scotian politician, judge, and author. He made an important political contribution to the state of Nova Scotia before its entry into Confederation of Canada. He was the ...

, a

Nova Scotian A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

judge and author. With his wry wit and

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...

voice, Sam Slick of Slicksville put forward his views on "

human nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

" in a regular column in the ''

Novascotian The ''Novascotian'' was a newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It became one of the most influential voices in the British North American colonies in its nearly one century of existence. The paper was founded as the ''Nova Scoti ...

''. The twenty-one sketches were published in a collection entitled ''The Clockmaker or, also known as, the Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick of Slicksville First Series'' in 1836 and supplemented by an additional 12 unpublished or new sketches. The book was Canada's first international bestseller and was hugely popular not only in Nova Scotia, but also in Britain and the United States. Slick’s wise-cracking commentary on the

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...

life of Nova Scotia and relations with the U.S. and Britain struck a note with readers, which lead to a second series in 1838 and a third in 1840. The

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

sketches, mocking both Canadians and Americans, made Haliburton one of the most popular writers of comic fiction in English of that era. ''The Clockmaker,'' which was also translated into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, established Haliburton as one of the founders of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n humour. As Arthur Scobie notes in ''The

Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available for ...

'', ''The Clockmaker'' stories, "proved immensely popular and, ironically, have influenced American humour as much as Canadian."

References

External links

The town of Windsor, Nova Scotia, home of Sam Slick
*
Sam Slick Days Festival
* * Hants County, Nova Scotia Mass media in Nova Scotia Literary characters {{fict-char-stub