THE ATTACHÉ; Or, Sam Slick In England.
London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street, 1843. Second Edition. Two volumes. Octavo, original publisher's brown cloth decorated in blind on front & rear panels, spine panel lettered in gilt, pale yellow endpapers. Pp (i-half-title), (ii-blank), (iii-title), (iv-blank) (v), vi, (vii-contents), viii, (1), 2-277, (278-blank); (i-half-title), (ii-blank), (iii-title), (iv-blank) (v-contents), vi; (1), 2-289, (290-printer's imprint). Contemporary early signatures on endpapers of each volume, Hairline crack to inner front hinge of Vol. 1 and inner rear hinge with an old repair, glue stains in spots to endpapers (possibly from an old cloth book wrapper, long removed); cloth worn lightly at the edges; a very good, sound set. Uncommon. Item #313739
¶ Thomas Chandler Haliburton (1796 - 1865) was a Nova Scotian politician, judge, and author who was the first international best-selling fiction author from what is now Canada, and who served as a Conservative Member of Parliament in England. With his wry wit and Yankee voice, "Sam Slick of Slicksville" put forward his views on "human nature" , and were originally published in a regular column in 'The Novascotian'. The first Sam Slick book, entitled 'The Clockmaker: the Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick of Slicksville" was published in 1836. It was Canada's first international bestseller and was hugely popular not only in Nova Scotia, but also in Britain and the United States.
Slick’s wise-cracking commentary on the colonial life of Nova Scotia and relations with the U.S. and Britain struck a note with readers, which led to a second series of stories 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 ATTACHÉ is the first Sam Slick novel.
Sam Slick’s sayings are likely familiar, even if you have never read Haliburton’s work. The stories popularized many phrases which are still in use today, such as:
Quick as a wink
Facts are stranger than fiction
A place for everything, and everything in its place
It’s raining cats and dogs.
Six of one, half a dozen of the other
Bark up the wrong tree
Won’t take no for an answer
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
You can’t get blood from a stone
This country is going to the dogs
The early bird gets the worm
Never look a gift horse in the mouth
A miss is as good as a mile
Mad as a hatter.
Price (CAD): $200.00