Book Description
Margaret Russett uses the example of Thomas De Quincey, the nineteenth-century essayist best remembered for his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater and his memoirs of Wordsworth and Coleridge, to examine the idea of the "minor" author, and how it is related to what we now call the Romantic canon. Situating De Quincey's writing in relation to the "major" poets he promoted, as well as the essays of Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, and others, Russett shows how De Quincey helped to shape the canon by which his career was defined. ... Read more

Book Description
Drawing on a broad range of sources, De Quincey's Disciplines reveals the English Opium-Eater to be a more complex and contradictory figure than is usually portrayed. All too often pigeon-holed as a latter-day Romantic and psychedelic dreamer, Thomas De Quincey is shown here to have been a prolific contributor to the periodicals of his day, on subjects as diverse as astronomy, economics, psychology, and politics.Taking a theoretical, new historicist stance, Josephine McDonagh's innovative examination of De Quincey's less frequently scrutinized works recontextualizes De Quincey as a true interdisciplinarian, aspiring to participation in the major intellectual project of his time: the formation of new fields of knowledge, and the attempt to unify these into an organic whole. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

the "majestic intellect"
This strange little book also has a strange distinction - it is Thomas De Quincey's first important work and in the revised edition, his last important work. Mr De Quincey regarded himself as "the Pope" of the poppy and his work reflects the dreams he had while under the influence of opium.

When the book first came out (1822), some reviewers thought it was Coleridge's work - Mr De Quincey had to prove he indeed wrote it. Despite the use of the word "Confessions" in th etitle, Mr De Quincey does not seem repentant or remorseful regarding his use of opium. In fact, Mr De Quincey believed that the use of opium released the "majestic intellect" of a person's mind, similiar to Dr Timothy Leary's view on LSD.

Those of you who are interested in pharmacology or drug addiction would be well served by reading this book. Mr De Quincey felt that his opium eating was actually beneficial to him and judging by his articulate arguments, one wonders is he could have been right.

Read it for yourself and see how this type of thing was handled in the nineteeth century. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Customer Reviews (10)

Trainspotting -- Early 19th Century Style
I recently learned that Thomas De Quincey attended my school, although this is a fact that is not prominent in its promotional literature (having the distinction of being the alma mater of one of history's most famous drug addicts not being high on the list of items deemed likely to attract the attention of well-heeled parents seeking a school for their precocious ten-year olds).This is a drug memoir of sorts, but it is washed in a romantic aestheticism that distinguishes it from the familiar gritty and sordid morality plays of more recent times.De Quincy sometimes comes off as an erudite version of the charcher played by Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting.Entertaining stuff, if a little dry in places.

For Verbiage Junkies Only
Thomas De Quincey was a contemporary of Wordsworth and more importantly in terms of comparison, Coleridge. He writes that Coleridge and he met several times and in one instance they perused some Parnesi prints together. Whether on not they were both high at the time, De Quincey doesn't reveal. However, given the tenor of the tangent upon which De Quincey expounds, it is certain that at least he was using, and given Coleridge's history, he probably was a well. Why do I cite this incident? Because it is one of the few points in the narrative that is memorable. As someone interested in literary figures, the image of two 19th century literary hop-heads grooving-out whilst staring at Parnesi prints (you should look up Parnesi on the web - a definite precursor to M.C. Escher)is just plain marvelous.

Unfortunately, that, and a few paragraphs depicting some truly macabre nightmares are the only noteworthy incidents in this book. Too often, De Quicey's labarynthine riffs doen't really lead anywhere. His writing style in some ways can be compared to another of his more illustrious contemporaries, Thomas Carlyle's. Both go in for elongated Latinate constructions, with modifier upon modifier and dependent and independent clauses ad infinitum. Carlyle, however, can pull it off. His great wit and energy of mind holds the center of the thought together, even as the rest of his sentence veers off into Baroque space. De Quincey is not an adept enough magician to perform this trick.

De Quincey's subject is himself. His mode of writing in this instance is primarily that of a diarist. This leads to comparisons with some other English diarists of note. Two that come immediately to mind are Defoe (A Journal of the Plague Year) and Pepys (the most famous of all). De Quincey doesn't hold up well in comparision. Defoe's journal is interesting because his subject matter is compelling, he's a great journalist (conveying to our mind's eye the events he depicts), and he gets to the point. Pepys is wonderful because he provides us a full panorama of life in London in the latter half of the 17th century. De Quincey is so absorbed in his solipsistic self-examination, that we as readers aren't even allowed to come up for air, much less see anything around us. That would even be permissable if the narrator were like Proust's Swann, who is at least likeable and self-effacing. Not so De Quincey. He interupts his own narrative on countless occasions to tell us what a splendid scholar he is and (to borrow a phrase from Ophelia) "what a great mind is here o'erthrown." He peppers the text with words like "heautontimoroumenos" to indicate that he is learned in Greek. Throughout the narrative, he is in way to big a hurry to impress these points upon the reader, instead of allowing the reader to judge for him/herself.

If you want to know what it's like to be a junkie, read Burroughs. If you want to read some painfully constructed English prose, give this one a go.
BK

I confess, I found it severely lacking
Confessions of an Opium Eater, almost entirely autobiographical, has a great many words of text but fails to say much of anything. Worse yet, it suffers form the greatest of literary afflictions....want of interesting writing.

Confessions has the appeal of listening to the incoherent, unorganized ramblings of a thoroughly bland speechgiver. He gives fits of lucidity to his story, in the form of making a point, only to derail it into some meaningless anecdote or philosophical pondering that leaves you wondering what his original point was to begin with.

The sum of his story is he began taking opium to alleviate the pain from a stomach malady and through increased use and increasing dosage became an addict. Little insight is given that would be relevant to understanding modern day drug abuse. However, much of the physical effects of opium abuse related by the author are common to the hell of chemical abuse suffered by today's addict.

I cannot remember the last time I fell asleep reading a novel but I did so 4 times while reading Confessions from sheer boredom. The unimaginative use of his obviously well developed vocabulary coupled with a story that ultimately goes nowhere made reading this book a most unbearable, tediuos chore.

Not the common definition of "confession"....
When I first heard of this book, I thought that it was a work of fiction.Given my basic knowledge of the Victorian era, I didn't think anyone, much less a writer, would stand up and talk about addiction.Alas, I was wrong, but do not regret reading this in the least.

Although this book is short, about 70 pages for this edition, it is not as quick a read as you would think.His vocabulary can be quite extensive and to fully understand him, you have to have his background in Greek (the language and mythology) to understand his allusions.His writing seems to approximate a conversation with a very intelligent, but distracted, person.Many of these sentences (especially in the beginning) are quite long and filled with commas and colons.It is like the intelligent person trying to tell you something important, but as he speaks, he is not sure that he is being clear, so he adds little phrases to try to illustrate his point more effectively as he leans forward earnestly in hopes of adequately trying to prove his point.

Within this piece, he talks of his background and why he started taking opium.He debunks many commentaries on opium use and explains why.DeQuincey also mentions other famous people who took opium (or laudanum).Lastly, he tells of some of his dreams which were "enhanced" by his opium taking.After reading these descriptions, I find myself looking at the work of Coleridge in a new light, and even the fictional character Sherlock Holmes.

I would recommend this piece to any wanting a better understanding of DeQuincey and his time.

A Great Book and A Great Writer
De Quincey is an exceptionally honest writer. Yet, while remaining honest, he manages to express his thoughts and emotions in beautiful words. While reading this book, one feels as if they're having a personal conversation with De Quincey(no doubt, a one-way conversation), and it becomes easy to develop a love and admiration for the guy. Moreover, it is interesting to hear a first hand account of what life was like in the early 19th century. It is not hard to see why this book is a classic. Read it, its short. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
Covering all the major themes of Thomas De Quincey's prose work, this new study argues the case for acknowledging "the Opium Eater" as a conscious artist, not the "flawed" writer often portrayed in previous critical studies. The book analyzes in detail the various manifestations of De Quincey's writings-autobiography, biography, fiction, politics, and political economy-relating them to the central concern of his work, the production of the self. By deconstructing De Quincey's working methods the book shows how De Quincey's constant revisions and recurrent tropes reflect his self-conscious purpose. Reference is made to many neglected writings, including letters, a newly discovered fiction, and previously "lost" work, to help illustrate the book's argument that De Quincey's oeuvre is primarily autobiographical. Contents: Acknowledgements; Bibliographical Note and Short Titles List; Introduction; Confessions of an English Opium-Eater; Autobiographical Essays; Biographical Interventions: sketches of Coleridge and Wordsworth; and Sir Hamilton; Fictions; 'The English Mail-Coach' and De Quincey's political works; The Logic of Political EconomyàR and related works; Notes; Bibliography; IndexàR ... Read more

Book Description
Although the English essayists Lamb, Hazlitt, and De Quincey are not customarily examined in the context of European Romanticism, their shared connection with the intellectual upheaval of that movement is undeniable. McFarland's study is the first to consider the essayists in this light,
relating them to the larger engagements of their age. As Romantic Cruxes reveals, each writer was a figure deeply embattled amid the disruptions and accumulating stresses that defined Romanticism; each was more intense, darker, and more symbolic of larger situations in human experience than received
opinion would have it.And each essayist projected his personality and experience into idiosyncratic statement that has won its author a lasting place in the pantheon of cultural achievement.Unlike most studies of these authors, which tend toward straightforward biography, simple appreciation, or
narrowly historical treatments, this book illuminates both their statement and their achievement in the fullest possible terms. ... Read more