Inventing Sam Slick: A Biography of Thomas Chandler Haliburton (Heritage)

Thomas Chandler Haliburton (1796–1865) was one of pre-confederation Canada's best-known authors. His popular 'Sam Slick the Clockmaker' character was a household name not only in his home country, but also in England and the United States. Born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Haliburton was not only a writer, but also a lawyer, judge, politician, and historian. He gained fame for his writing in 1836 with The Clockmaker: or, the Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick of Slickville for a Halifax newspaper. It became a hit in England and was followed by six sequels. Although Haliburton tried to put Sam Slick aside and work in other genres, he found himself invariably returning to the character in his later books. This commitment to Slick resulted in a curious effacement of Haliburton's own personal gentlemanly identity, which he spent the second half of his life affirming by fostering links with socially well connected family in England. In the public imagination, however, he remained linked with Sam Slick. Based on over ten years of archival research, Richard A. Davies's scholarly biography of Haliburton is the first since 1924. It is an engaging examination of a controversial and contradictory Canadian writer and significant figure in the history of pre-confederation Nova Scotia. Contents 7 Acknowledgments 9 Part One: ‘This is my own, my native land’ 15 Chapter 1. Alias ‘Sam Slick’ 15 Chapter 2. Yankee Heritage 21 Chapter 3. King’s College and Marriage 27 Chapter 4. Annapolis Royal and the General Description 36 Chapter 5. The Legislature and the ‘Club’ 44 Chapter 6. Historian and Judge 51 Chapter 7. Clifton and The Clockmaker 59 Chapter 8. A Tradition of Yankee Humour 64 Chapter 9. Career in Crisis 72 Part Two: A Literary Career 81 Chapter 10. The Greatest Lion in London 81 Chapter 11. Moving in the Best of Circles 86 Chapter 12. Bubbles of Canada and Reply to the Earl of Durham 93 Chapter 13. Microcosms: Clifton and the Great Western 102 Chapter 14. More Clockmaking and More New Relations 111 Chapter 15. The Death of Louisa 116 Chapter 16. A Three-Hundred-Year-Old Tory Returned to Life 124 Chapter 17. The Death of Tom Jr 132 Chapter 18. Stepping Out of the Frame 140 Chapter 19. Sam Slick Rides Again 150 Chapter 20. End of an Era 160 Part Three: Sam Slick in England 171 Chapter 21. A New Career 171 Chapter 22. A Hectic Social Life 178 Chapter 23. Member of Parliament for Launceston 193 Chapter 24. The Clash with Gladstone 204 Chapter 25. The Canada Land and Emigration Company 215 Chapter 26. Launceston, Parliament, and Isleworth 224 Chapter 27. The Banting System 233 Chapter 28. The Last of the Tories 238 Appendix: Haliburton Family Tree 245 Notes 249 Works by Thomas Chandler Haliburton 301 Illustration Credits 303 Index 305

Thomas Chandler Haliburton (1796-1865) was one of pre-confederation Canada's best-known authors. His popular 'Sam Slick the Clockmaker' character was a household name not only in his home country, but also in England and the United States.

Born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Haliburton was not only a writer, but also a lawyer, judge, politician, and historian. He gained fame for his writing in 1836 with The Clockmaker: or, the Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick of Slickville for a Halifax newspaper. It became a hit in England and was followed by six sequels. Although Haliburton tried to put Sam Slick aside and work in other genres, he found himself invariably returning to the character in his later books. This commitment to Slick resulted in a curious effacement of Haliburton's own personal gentlemanly identity, which he spent the second half of his life affirming by fostering links with socially well connected family in England. In the public imagination, however, he remained linked with Sam Slick.

Based on over ten years of archival research, Richard A. Davies's scholarly biography of Haliburton is the first since 1924. It is an engaging examination of a controversial and contradictory Canadian writer and significant figure in the history of pre-confederation Nova Scotia.

"Thomas Chandler Haliburton (1796-1865) was one of pre-confederation Canada's best-known authors. His popular 'Sam Slick the Clockmaker' character was a household name not only in his home country, but also in England and the United States." "Born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Haliburton was not only a writer, but also a lawyer, judge, politician, and historian. He gained fame for his writing in 1836 with The Clockmaker: or, the Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick of Slickville for a Halifax newspaper. It became a hit in England and was followed by six sequels." "Based on over ten years of archival research, Richard A. Davies's biography of Haliburton is the first since 1924. It is an examination of a controversial and contradictory Canadian writer and significant figure in the history of Nova Scotia."--Jacket For fifty years after 1837, Sam Slick the Clockmaker was the most celebrated literary Yankee of the day.