(1796-1865)

In creating the Yankee clockmaker Sam Slick, Judge Haliburton turned from legislation to satire in his drive to promote social and political change in Nova Scotia. He became the first Canadian writer to achieve international recognition.

Sam Slick appealed to British and American readers as well as to Nova Scotians. The Clockmaker — first published in 1836 — quickly became the first Canadian international bestseller, and is still in print. Sam Slick was so popular that Haliburton wrote a whole series of books, which passed through numerous regular editions and pirated printings. The illustrator C.W. Jefferys said of Haliburton, “He was altogether a fine old reactionary who believed in pretty nearly everything that has been abolished or is now in process of demolition.” He also passed common-sense judgement on the absurdities of colonial pioneer life and manners.