CONFESSIONS OF AN ENGLISH OPIUM-EATER. [and,] CONFESSIONS OF AN ENGLISH OPIUM-EATER. Being an Extract from the Life of a Scholar. First Published in the London Magazine.

London [and] New York: Printed for Taylor and Hessey [and] E. Littell, 1822 [and] 1823. First Edition, the English Issue and First Edition, the Very Rare First American Issue. 12mo, the English first edition uncut, bound in contemporary three-quarter calf over marbled boards, the spine divided by gilt fillets into compartments; the American first edition uncut in publisher's original drab boards, the spine panel with printed lettering., housed together in custom foldover case, the spine panel lettered in gilt, and each book with a protective cloth dustjacket protecting the volume. [2, half-title], iv, 206, [6 ads and publisher's catalogue]; xii, [13]-183, [1] pp. The English first edition with the front cover and front free end leaf detached, some rubbing and evidence of age, the text-block well preserved and in fine order, crisp and clean throughout, ownership inscription on the front free end-leaf; the American first edition in original drab boards, the text-block very well preserved, with light evidence of age as is normal with the paper stock, uncut with original deckled edges, the spine panel mostly perished with a small portion of original spine lettering intact, front joint cracked, ownership signature on the half-title. VERY RARE FIRST AMERICAN EDITION AND THE RARE FIRST ENGLISH EDITION OF THE FOUNDATIONAL DRUG MEMOIR. A LANDMARK IN THE EMERGING GENRE OF THE AUTOBIOGRPHY MORE GENERALLY AND A MASTERPIECE OF ENGLISH PROSE IN ITS OWN RIGHT. TWO FIRST EDITION COPIES OF 'DeQuincy’s study of his own opium addiction and its psychological effects. It is also the first book in English to deal with the subject of drug addiction and it traces how childhood and youthful experience are transformed under the influence of opium.'
This book established De Quincey’s literary reputation. First published serially and anonymously to immediate acclaim (and speculation as to the authorship), Confessions is a cornerstone of late British Romanticism, and through its translations and adaptations by Baudelaire (Les Paradis artificiels, 1860) and Musset an important influence in French literature. The author was writing at a time when opium was a commonly used sedative and painkiller. "The miraculous effects of opium were no more mysterious to De Quincey's contemporaries than the miraculous effects of aspirin are to us today; everyone who had taken opium to sedate a sore tooth knew what De Quincey was describing. The genius of his Confessions, as the cultural historian Mike Jay puts it, is that "De Quincey was not so much breaking a taboo as deliberately creating one by recastin familiar practice as transgressive and culturally threatening. It was a Byronic double game, baiting the moralists and middlebrow public opinion while delighting the elite with the invention of a new vice." (Wilson, Guilty thing, p. 234).
De Quincey was the son of a wealthy merchant, but after his father died, he was sent away to school. When he was 15, he ran away and began to live in London as a “19th-century ‘dropout’”. During this time, he became attached to Ann, a prostitute who later played a large role in his drug-induced hallucinations. He eventually went to study at Oxford and there began to take opium. He left in 1808, due to a panic attack that preceded his examinations. Nevertheless, De Quincey was a studious and scholarly individual and developed an interest in German literature, as well as the work of Wordsworth and Coleridge.
In 1809, De Quincey moved to the Lake District to develop the literary career that he wanted. He began to write and publish, as well as developing a brief friendship with the Wordsworths. Later, he moved to London and with the help of Charles Lamb, became a contributor to the London Magazine, where Confessions was first published. [Cam GT Eng Lit]
Because of physical ailments (a toothache, later a stomach disorder and finally, to calm his nerves), De Quincey began to take opium and eventually increased the dosages, taking it over a period of eight years. In this work, he describes the effects of this addiction as well as his determination and eventual success in ending it. While on the drug, “he suffered from tremendous dreams, in which he sometimes seemed to live through a century in a night. He was haunted by the monstrous figure of a crocodile, or visions of Ann and early acquaintances, especially a certain Malay, whom he had found wandering in the Lakes and presented with a large dose of opium. The Malay was not found dead, but long continued to ‘run amuck’ through De Quincey’s dreams.” [Oxf Compan] “The remarkable intimacy of the Confessions and the rich sensuous prose make the book a striking contribution to English Romantic literature.” [Cam GT Eng Lit] Thus, this is both a fascinating account and an important contribution to English literature.
" Throughout the nineteenth century the work was viewed as having medical authority as a case history, and De Quincey was widely read in British and American medical circles" (DNB).
The American first edition of Confessions of an English Opium-Eater is very rare and is seldom if ever offered in commerce. The influence of the Confessions was felt in the united States, with Poe declaring the Opium Eater one of "the first men in England". Elements of the Confessions and De Quincey's life became fodder for Poe's stories, with "The Man of the Crowd", "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "William Wilson" all bearing De Quincey's influence.
The author wrote a variety of literary works, was friends with Wordsworth, Hazlitt and others, and his prose was “ornate...marked by splendid imagery...and humour.” [Oxf Compan]

Norman 619. Green 354 & 357. Tinker 817