Thomas de Quincey

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater Thomas de Quincey

"Confessions of an English Opium-Eater" (1821) is an autobiographical account written by Thomas De Quincey, about his laudanum 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. The Confessions represents De Quincey's initial effort to write what he called "impassioned prose", an effort that he would later resume in "Suspiria de Profundis" (1845) and "The English Mail-Coach" (1849).