Confessions of an English Opium-Eater

Name: Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
Brand: Naxos
Availability: InStock
Author: Thomas de Quincey
ISBN: 9781843799184

Author: Thomas de Quincey

Narrator: Gunnar Cauthery

Unabridged: 3 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Naxos

Published: 09/25/2015

Categories: Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography

Synopsis

Thomas De Quincey’s highly charged and hauntingly accurate account of laudanum addiction is considered the root of all drug novels. From Poe to Burroughs, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater influenced a variety of literary writers. After being prescribed the drug as pain relief for a chronic condition, De Quincey soon found himself compelled by the opium experience. His dreams are recounted here in every hallucinatory detail: threatening Roman armies, sunken cities, and German mountaintops... De Quincey’s vivid memories will evoke wonder and curiosity in the listener.

About Thomas De Quincey

Thomas De Quincey (1785–1859) was born in Manchester, England, the son of a textile merchant. After his father’s early death, he was sent away to school, but he ran away to wander in North Wales and London. He later attended Oxford where he befriended Coleridge and William and Dorothy Wordsworth. The success of his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater launched him in a career as an essayist and critic. De Quincey’s work was widely admired, but he spent much of his life in poverty and debt until the last decade of his life.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Paul on November 24, 2016

If there is reincarnation I want them to put a hold on mine until humanity has invented drugs that don't have a down-side to them. No tiresome side effects, like early death. And they'll be cheap. And you'll still be able to fire up your jet pack and get to the office and do your job and impress you......more

Goodreads review by William2 on September 12, 2017

3.5 stars. One can see why Confessions was such a favorite among the drug-addled youngsters of the 60s and 70s. The title is catchy but--surprise!--its not primarily a book about drug experiences. Only the last 20 or so pages plumb that. It's about suffering, homelessness, and penury. There were pas......more

Goodreads review by Julian on February 08, 2022

A fascinating insight into a different life from the one I've led, so far at least. It only seems right to read The Doors of Perception next! Thomas de Quincey really landed on his feet when the Wordsworths moved out of, what was to become later, Dove Cottage in Grasmere and he moved in. The book no......more

Goodreads review by Ulysse on September 11, 2023

Centoundici There was a young man who feared odium So he spent fifty years eating opium His excuse was his stomach But that was just bollocks There was always le bicarbonate de sodium A sinistra... / A destra... .......more

Goodreads review by Sasha on January 02, 2015

"First published in 1821, it paved the way for later generations of literary drug users, from Baudelaire to Burroughs." Whee! While this is maybe not indispensable, it's also not more than 100 pages, so it gets five stars based on its ratio of awesomeness vs. time commitment. And it is pretty awesome......more