First published in the September and October 1821 issues of the

and as a book the following year, the

established Thomas De Quincey (1785–1859) as a pre-eminent English writer of the Romantic and early Victorian periods. As his best known work which showcases his characteristic “impassioned prose”, the

combines mundane autobiographical events and visionary fantasies in a vivid, often digressive manner. De Quincey’s personal account of the effects of “a seventeen years’ use, and an eight years’ abuse of [opium’s] powers” (75) on his intellectual and imaginative faculties has influenced generations of writers and artists and has made the book a subject of social and literary controversy to this day.

An

2950 words

Citation: Black, Joel. "Confessions of an English Opium Eater". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 April 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=9768, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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