Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1416.5

THOMAS DE QUINCEY (1785-1859) Confessions of an English opium-eater. Printed for Taylor and Hessey 1822 First edition. vi, 206 p. 17 cm.

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1821) is an autobiographical account written by Thomas De Quincey, about his laudanum (opium and alcohol) addiction and its effect on his life. The Confessions was "the first major work De Quincey published and the one which won him fame almost overnight..." First published anonymously in September and October 1821 in the London Magazine, the Confessions was released in book form in 1822, and again in 1856, in an edition revised by De Quincey. Yet from the time of its publication, De Quincey's Confessions was criticized for presenting a picture of the opium experience that was too positive and too enticing to readers. As early as 1823, an anonymous response, Advice to Opium Eaters, was published "to warn others from copying De Quincey" [Wikipedia, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater].

John Martin M.D. Endowment