''Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'' (
1821) is an
autobiographical
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
account written by
Thomas De Quincey
Thomas Penson De Quincey (; 15 August 17858 December 1859) was an English writer, essayist, and literary critic, best known for his '' Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'' (1821). Many scholars suggest that in publishing this work De Quinc ...
, about his
laudanum addiction
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...
and its effect on his life. The ''Confessions'' was "the first major work De Quincey published and the one that won him fame almost overnight".
First published anonymously in September and October 1821 in the ''
London Magazine
''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and miscellaneous topics.
1732–1785
''The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly I ...
'', the ''Confessions'' was released in book form in 1822, and again in 1856, in an edition revised by De Quincey.
Synopsis
As originally published, De Quincey's account was organised into two parts:
* Part I begins with a notice "To the Reader", to establish the narrative frame: "I here present you, courteous reader, with the record of a remarkable period in my life...." It is followed by the substance of Part I,
** ''Preliminary Confessions'', devoted to the author's childhood and youth, and concentrated upon the emotional and psychological factors that underlay the later opium experiences—especially the period in his late teens that De Quincey spent as a homeless runaway in Oxford Street in London in 1802 and 1803.
* Part II is split into several sections:
** A relatively brief introduction and connecting passage, followed by
** ''The Pleasures of Opium'', which discusses the early and largely positive phase of the author's experience with the drug, from 1804 until 1812;
** ''Introduction to the Pains of Opium'', which delivers a second instalment of autobiography, taking De Quincey from youth to maturity; and
** ''The Pains of Opium'', which recounts the extreme of the author's opium experience (up to that time), with insomnia, nightmares, frightening visions, and difficult physical symptoms.
* Another "Notice to the Reader" attempts to clarify the chronology of the whole.
![Cover of Thomas de Quincey's Confessions of an Opium Eater](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Cover_of_Thomas_de_Quincey%27s_Confessions_of_an_Opium_Eater.JPG)
Though De Quincey was later criticised for giving too much attention to the pleasure of opium and not enough to the harsh negatives of addiction, ''The Pains of Opium'' is in fact significantly longer than ''The Pleasures''. However, even when trying to convey darker truths, De Quincey's language can seem seduced by the compelling nature of the opium experience:
Style
![John Watson Gordon (1788-1864) - Thomas de Quincey (1785–1859), Author and Essayist - PG 553 - National Galleries of Scotland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/John_Watson_Gordon_%281788-1864%29_-_Thomas_de_Quincey_%281785%E2%80%931859%29%2C_Author_and_Essayist_-_PG_553_-_National_Galleries_of_Scotland.jpg)
From its first appearance, the literary style of the ''Confessions'' attracted attention and comment. De Quincey was well read in the English literature of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and assimilated influences and models from Sir
Thomas Browne and other writers. Arguably the most famous and often-quoted passage in the ''Confessions'' is the
apostrophe
The apostrophe ( or ) is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. In English, the apostrophe is used for two basic purposes:
* The marking of the omission of one o ...
to opium in the final paragraph of ''The Pleasures'':
De Quincey modelled this passage on the apostrophe "O eloquent, just and mightie Death!" in Sir
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebelli ...
's ''History of the World''.
Earlier in ''The Pleasures of Opium'' De Quincey describes the long walks he took through the London streets under the influence of the drug:
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
''Suspiria de profundis'' (a Latin phrase meaning "sighs from the depths") is a collection of essays in the form of prose poems by English writer Thomas De Quincey, first published in 1845. An examination of the process of memory as influenced by ...
'' (1845) and ''
The English Mail-Coach
''The English Mail-Coach'' is an essay by the English author Thomas De Quincey. A "three-part masterpiece" and "one of his most magnificent works," it first appeared in 1849 in ''Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine'', in the October (Part I) and Dec ...
'' (1849).
1856 revision
In the early 1850s, De Quincey prepared the first collected edition of his works for publisher
James Hogg
James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a friend of many ...
. For that edition, he undertook a large-scale revision of the ''Confessions'', more than doubling the work's length. Most notably, he expanded the opening section on his personal background, until it consumed more than two-thirds of the whole. Yet he gave the book "a much weaker beginning" and detracted from the impact of the original with digressions and inconsistencies; "the verdict of most critics is that the earlier version is artistically superior".
"De Quincey undoubtedly spoiled his masterpiece by revising it... anyone who compares the two will prefer the unflagging vigour and tension of the original version to the tired prosiness of much of the revised one".
Influence
![De Quincey Tavistock Street London](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/De_Quincey_Tavistock_Street_London.jpg)
The ''Confessions'' maintained a place of primacy in De Quincey's literary output, and his literary reputation, from its first publication; "it went through countless editions, with only occasional intervals of a few years, and was often translated. Since there was little systematic study of narcotics until long after his death, De Quincey's account assumed an authoritative status and actually dominated the scientific and public views of the effects of opium for several generations."
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." The fear of reckless imitation was not groundless: several English writers—
Francis Thompson
Francis Joseph Thompson (16 December 1859 – 13 November 1907) was an English poet and Catholic mystic. At the behest of his father, a doctor, he entered medical school at the age of 18, but at 26 left home to pursue his talent as a writer a ...
,
James Thomson, William Blair, and perhaps
Branwell Brontë
Patrick Branwell Brontë (, commonly ; 26 June 1817 – 24 September 1848) was an English painter and writer. He was the only son of the Brontë family, and brother of the writers Charlotte, Emily, and Anne. Brontë was rigorously tutored at ...
—were led to opium use and addiction by De Quincey's literary example.
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...
's 1860 translation and adaptation, ''
Les paradis artificiels'', spread the work's influence further. One of the characters of the Sherlock Holmes story "
The Man with the Twisted Lip
"The Man with the Twisted Lip", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the sixth of the twelve stories in ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes''. The story was first published in the '' Strand Magazi ...
" (1891) is an opium addict who began experimenting with the drug as a student after reading the ''Confessions''. De Quincey attempted to address this type of criticism. When the 1821 original was printed in book form the following year, he added an Appendix on the withdrawal process; and he inserted significant material on the medical aspects of opium into his 1856 revision.
More generally, De Quincey's ''Confessions'' influenced
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
and
abnormal psychology
Abnormal psychology is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behavior, emotion, and thought, which could possibly be understood as a mental disorder. Although many behaviors could be considered as abnormal, this branch of psyc ...
, and attitudes towards dreams and imaginative literature.
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
praised ''Confessions'' for its "glorious imagination—deep philosophy—acute speculation".
The play ''The Opium Eater'' by
Andrew Dallmeyer
Andrew Dallmeyer (10 January 1945 – 21 May 2017) was a Scottish playwright, theatre director and actor. He wrote over 75 plays, including the ''Opium Eater'' and directed more than 50 productions. His plays have won a number of awards, includi ...
was based on ''Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'',
and has been published by
Capercaillie Books
''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Tetrao'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his ...
. In 1962,
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
starred in the full-length film ''
Confessions of an Opium Eater
''Confessions of an Opium Eater'' also known as Souls for Sale and Evils of Chinatown is a 1962 American crime film produced and directed by Albert Zugsmith. It is loosely based on the 1822 autobiographical novel ''Confessions of an English Opium ...
'', which was a reimagining of De Quincey's ''Confessions'' by Hollywood producer
Albert Zugsmith
Albert Zugsmith (April 24, 1910 – October 26, 1993) was an American film producer, film director and screenwriter who specialized in low-budget exploitation films through the 1950s and 1960s.
With a background in music promotion (Ted Weems, P ...
.
In the 1999 documentary ''Tripping'', recounting
Ken Kesey
Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s.
Kesey was born in ...
's ''
Furthur'' bus and its influence,
Malcolm McLaren refers to De Quincey's book as the influence for the beatnik generation before
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation.
Of French-Canadian a ...
's popular ''
On the Road
''On the Road'' is a 1957 novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across the United States. It is considered a defining work of the postwar Beat and Counterculture generations, with its protagonis ...
'' was written.
[''Tripping'', 1999]
The book has been parodied in the ''
Elder Scrolls
''The Elder Scrolls'' is a series of action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on free-form gameplay in an open world. '' Morrowind'', '' Oblivion'' a ...
'' series with the book ''Confessions of a Dunmer Skooma Eater'', which first appeared in ''
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind''.
References
External links
*
* (plain text and HTML)
*''Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'', ''
London Magazine
''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and miscellaneous topics.
1732–1785
''The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly I ...
''
Vol. IV (September 1821) No. xxi
pp. 293–312 and (October 1821) No. xxii
pp. 353–379''Confessions of an English Opium-Eater''at
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
(scanned books original editions)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Confessions Of An English Opium-Eater
1821 documents
Literary autobiographies
Works published anonymously
Works originally published in The London Magazine
History of mental health in the United Kingdom
Opium in the United Kingdom
Books about mental health
Works about opium
Memoirs about drugs
1822 non-fiction books
Works by Thomas De Quincey
Autobiographies adapted into films