Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
Being an Extract from the Life of a Scholar
Thomas De Quincey first took opium in 1804 for a toothache and was dependent on it for most of his life. His Confessions, published in the London Magazine in 1821, recount the years that led there: a boyhood of precocious scholarship, a flight from Manchester Grammar School, months of near-starvation in London befriended by a young prostitute named Ann, and then the drug itself, first as a source of pleasure and expanded perception and then as the engine of nightmares in which centuries pass in a night. The prose is ornate and digressive and the honesty, for its time, remarkable. The book created a genre, and Baudelaire among many others learned from it. It is available to read online in your browser on Vinteuil, with the first chapter free.
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Frequently asked questions about Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas De Quincey can be read online on Vinteuil, directly in your browser. The first chapter is free for everyone; the complete book is included in Vinteuil Reading ($4.99/month or $39.99/year) or yours forever for $2.99.
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Is Confessions of an English Opium-Eater in the public domain?
Yes. Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas De Quincey is a public-domain work. Vinteuil offers a carefully prepared digital edition made for comfortable reading on screen.
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About 2 h 35 min of reading, at an average reading pace. Your place is saved automatically when you are signed in, so you can read in several sittings and on several devices.
What kind of book is Confessions of an English Opium-Eater?
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas De Quincey is filed under "History" in the Vinteuil library.
