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 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 S ...

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 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as, the Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick of Slicksville First Series'' in 1836 and supplemented by an additional 12 unpublished or new sketches.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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's first international bestseller and was hugely popular not only in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, but also in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. 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 au ...

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 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, established Haliburton as one of the founders of North American

humour Humour ( Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in ...

. 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 ...

'', ''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