Samuel Marchbanks is a fictional character who wrote editorials for the Peterborough Examiner newspaper in the small city of Peterborough, Ontario, northeast of Toronto, during the middle of the 20th century. Marchbanks was, in fact, a pseudonym used by Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor Robertson Davies during his tenure as editor of the newspaper. Marchbanks is described as witty, cantankerous, and determinedly individualistic.