Can I read Confessions of an English Opium-Eater on EtoBox?

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas De Quincey is a nonfiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is Confessions of an English Opium-Eater about?

First published in 1821, it is an autobiographical account of the author's life and in particular, of his addiction to laudanum (opium dissolved in ethanol). It was initally published anonymously, but when his name was put to it, it made him famous almost immediately. The book discusses his childhood, including a period in his teens when he was homeless, and his first pleasureable experiences with opium. It then goes on to talk about his addiction and all the problems that it brought - nightmares, insomnia, physical symptoms.Although De Quincey did write about the negative side of the drug, he was criticised for writing too much about the positive aspects of it. It was feared that it might lead people to copy his lifestyle and indeed, it does appear that this fear was not entirely unfounded - English writers such as Francis Thompson, James Thomson, William Blair, and Branwell Brontë, all ending up using opium after following De Quincey's example. And in the fictional world, Arthur Conan Doyle has a character in The Man with the Twisted Lip, who becomes an opium addict after reading De Quincey's book. The author did address this problem by adding an Appendix discussing the withdrawa

Who reads Confessions of an English Opium-Eater?

Author

Thomas De Quincey

Publisher

Global Grey

Published

2021

Language

EN

Category

nonfiction

Subjects

Literary Fiction, Memoir, Biography

Rating

3.3 / 5 (28 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-13