Comprises Slick's Letter and thirty-three stories.

Reproduction of the original: The Clockmaker by Thomas Chandler Haliburton

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.

The year is 1835. Thomas Poker has been sent to Nova Scotia by Britain's Ministry of the Interior to investigate possible covert American activity in the province. On hearing stories of a certain Yankee peddler - a clockmaker named Samuel Slick of Slickville, Connecticut - Poker contrives to meet him and, posing as 'The Squire', convinces Slick to take him on a tour of the province. In this tour, Sam Slick shares the secret of his successful clock-selling business, his opinion of Nova Scotia and 'Bluenoses', and his unique thoughts on going ahead. The Squire takes notes, convinced Slick has a secret agenda which includes the annexation of Nova Scotia to America, and hatches a few plots of his own. With this dramatic adaptation of Thomas Chandler Haliburton's The Clockmaker, playwright Andrew Gillis moves Canada's first best-selling literary character from page to stage.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.