Thursday, 29 November 2012

Spotlight on the collection


“The politician, the lawyer, and the spider, they are all alike, they have the manoevering eye. Beware of these I tell you. Mind your eye. Women is more difficulter still to read than man, because smilin’ comes as natural to them as suction to a snipe.”

-          Haliburton, Thomas Chandler (1844) The Attaché; or, Sam Slick in England. London: Richard Bentley  [Bg 20-1]

Thomas Chandler Haliburton was a 19th century novelist from Nova Scotia. He is often regarded as Canada’s first international bestselling author, and rose to popularity with his Clockmaker series, detailing the humorous adventures of his hero, the irrepressible Sam Slick. Sam featured in a number of Haliburton’s works, including The Attaché, which follows Mr. Slick’s exploits on a trip to England, detailing in his most distinctive voice his witty and often satirical thoughts and views on English society.

Haliburton is perhaps less well known now in comparison to some of his contemporaries. However his novels constituted popular light reading at the time, and this is reflected in the library’s collection, which along with The Attaché also holds copies of The Clockmaker and The Old Judge.

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