The original drug memoir—a true 19th-century account of the pleasures and pains of addiction Once upon a time, opium, the main ingredient in heroin, was easily available over the chemist's counter. The secret of happiness, about which philosophers have disputed for so many ages, could be bought for a penny, and carried in the waistcoat pocket—portable ecstasies could be corked up in a pint bottle.Paradise? So thought Thomas de Quincey, but he soon discovered that "nobody will laugh long who deals much with opium."

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (Vintage Classics)

Biographies & Memoirs

DE QUINCEY., THOMAS

Arts & Literature

RANDOM HOUSE UK

The author shares his impressions of Wordsworth, Southey, and Coleridge and describes his life at Grasmere in England's Lake District

Recollections of the Lakes and the Lake Poets (Penguin Classics)

Penguin Classics

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

Confessions of an English Opium Eater

The first literary addiction memoir, featuring the autobiographical Suspiria de Profundis, the inspiration for the 2018 horror film Suspiria, starring Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton and directed by Luca Guadagnino In this remarkable autobiography, Thomas De Quincey hauntingly describes the surreal visions and hallucinatory nocturnal wanderings he took through London—and the nightmares, despair, and paranoia to which he became prey—under the influence of the then-legal painkiller laudanum. Forging a link between artistic self-expression and addiction, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater and Other Writings seamlessly weaves the effects of drugs and the nature of dreams, memory, and imagination. First published in 1821, it paved the way for later generations of literary drug users, from Baudelaire to Burroughs, and anticipated psychoanalysis with its insights into the subconscious. This edition is based on the original serial version of 1821, and reproduces two “sequels”: Suspiria de Profundis (1845) and The English Mail-Coach (1849). It also includes a critical introduction discussing the romantic figure of the addict and the tradition of confessional literature, and an appendix on opium in the nineteenth century. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,800 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Religion & Spirituality

This work relates the author's early life and experiences of opium addiction, at a time when the drug was widely used for the relief of pain, and before its addictive qualities were properly understood.

Confessions of an English Opium-eater (Penguin Popular Classics)

Penguin Books, Ltd.

Literature & Fiction

Essays & Correspondence

'People begin to see that something more goes to the composition of a fine murder than two blockheads to kill and be killed - a knife - a purse - and a dark lane...' In this provocative and blackly funny essay, Thomas de Quincey considers murder in a purely aesthetic light and explains how practically every philosopher over the past two hundred years has been murdered - 'insomuch, that if a man calls himself a philosopher, and never had his life attempted, rest assured there is nothing in him'. Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. Thomas de Quincey (1785-1859). Thomas de Quincey's Confessions and an English Opium-Eater and Other Writings is available in Penguin Classics.

Little Black Classics On Murder Considered As One of the Fine Ac

Genre Fiction

Penguin Classic

For the true bibliophile and design-savvy book lover, here is the next set of Penguin's celebrated Great Ideas series by some of history's most innovative thinkers. Acclaimed for their striking and elegant package, each volume features a unique type-driven design that highlights the bookmaker's art. Offering great literature and great design at great prices, this series is ideal for readers who want to explore and savor the Great Ideas that have shaped our world.

Confessions of an English Opium Eater (Penguin Great Ideas)

Penguin??Books

Thomas De Quincey began taking opium in 1804. For him the key to Paradise, as he experienced visions of the utmost beauty an exquisite heightening of the senses and intellect. Nine years later addiction loomed, causing intense depression, lethargy and terrifying nightmares. Yet when Confessions of an English Opium Eater, from which this extract is taken, first appeared in 1821, many were tempted into experimenting with opium, so vivid and fascinating were De Quincey's descriptions of his dreams.

The Pleasures and Pains of Opium (Classic, 60s)

This selection of De Quincey's writings includes the title piece--his most famous work--as well as "On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth," "The English Mail-Coach," and the Suspiria de Profundis.

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater: and Other Writings (Oxford World's Classics)

Oxford University Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by DE QUINCEY., THOMAS. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by DE QUINCEY., THOMAS

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by DE QUINCEY., THOMAS. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (Vintage Classics)

Recollections of the Lakes and the Lake Poets (Penguin Classics)

Confessions of an English Opium Eater

Confessions of an English Opium Eater

Confessions of an English Opium-eater (Penguin Popular Classics)

Confessions of an English Opium Eater

Little Black Classics On Murder Considered As One of the Fine Ac

Confessions of an English Opium Eater (Penguin Great Ideas)

The Pleasures and Pains of Opium (Classic, 60s)

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater: and Other Writings (Oxford World's Classics)