Tuesday

Acquisitions (79): Thomas De Quincey


Grevel Lindop: The Opium-Eater (1981 / 1993)

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James Archer: Thomas de Quincey (1785–1859)


Grevel Lindop: The Opium-Eater (1993)
[SPCA Op Shop, Browns Bay - 16/9/2022]:

Grevel Lindop. The Opium-Eater: A Life of Thomas De Quincey. 1981. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. London: Orion Publishing Group, 1993.


Robert Morrison: The English Opium-Eater (2009)
Robert Morrison. The English Opium-Eater: A Biography of Thomas De Quincey. 2009. New York: Pegasus Books, 2010.

I've now read three biographies of Thomas De Quincey, the so-called 'English Opium-Eater' (whose influence I discussed in rather more detail in an earlier post here). The book pictured directly above was written by an old classmate of mine, Rob Morrison, whom I met at Graduate School in Edinburgh in the late 1980s. Since then I've kept an eye out for books by him, and have copies of two of the anthologies of Gothic Tales he's co-edited, as well as this, his magnum opus.
Baldick, Chris, & Robert Morrison, ed. Tales of Terror from Blackwood’s Magazine. The World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Baldick, Chris, & Robert Morrison, ed. John Polidori: The Vampyre and Oher Tales of the Macabre. Oxford World’s Classics. 1997. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
I remember even then how good Rob was at establishing good relations with the movers and shakers in the British Academic world: the people at Dove Cottage, and a whole range of others. I also recall his wife telling us one day in the pub how difficult it was to walk out at the crack of dawn for your shift on the supermarket checkout, then to return in the evening to discover that the page Rob had been working on that morning had since been erased. It was clearly all worth it in the end, though - this is a magisterial work.


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Frances Wilson: Guilty Thing (2016)
Frances Wilson. Guilty Thing: A Life of Thomas De Quincey. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016.
This second life, rather more impressionistic in form, was sent to us in a care package of assorted life writing from the Book Grocer by my brother-in-law Greg Lloyd during one of the many Auckland COVID lockdowns. It was a very thoughtful gesture, which we greatly appreciated.

As well as this fascinating tome, there were biographies there of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Paul McCartney, and Vittoria Colonna, as well as autobiographies by Frederick Forsyth, Nelson Mandela, and various other luminaries, many of which I've since read from cover to cover.

The De Quincey book, too, is an entertaining read, focussing mainly on his 1827 essay 'On Murder Considered as one of the Fine Arts' as the central manifestation of the guilty feelings which consumed him throughout his life, and which may have been the principal cause of his hopeless addiction to opium. I wouldn't say I was entirely convinced by Wilson's thesis, but it's certainly persuasively argued.


Frances Wilson (1964- )




The third, by Grevel Lindop, I bought more recently in a secondhand shop, mainly because I'd seen it listed as one of the better lives of De Quincey, but also because it was such a bargain. I wasn't really intending to read it, but the book just fell open in my hand, and after that there was nothing for it but to follow the sorry saga of his debts, dope-addiction, and family troubles to its end.

It's far less detailed than Rob Morrison's biography, and far less tendentious than Frances Wilson's. In fact, if you're looking for a sound and well written summary of De Quincey's life, with no fuss, no muss, and no rough stuff (to quote Carl Barks), then this would be the one I'd recommend.

Mind you, if your interest in him is a scholarly one, you'd be far better off with Rob's - and devotees of psychological criticism will probably tend to gravitate to Frances Wilson's. But there's something to be said for conciseness, and given that Grevel Lindop went on to become the managing editor of the standard edition of De Quincey's Complete Works (21 vols: 2000-2003), it's hard to question his scholarly bona fides.


Grevel Lindop (1948- )

The whole subject of opium, and opium-addiction, is a fascinating one. It's played a major role in the lives of many artists, from Coleridge, De Quincey and Wilkie Collins in the nineteenth century, all the way to Jean Cocteau and Bela Lugosi in the twentieth. Nowadays stronger opiates are readily available, but Cocteau's journal entry recording that "Picasso said that the smell of opium is the least stupid smell in the world" gives some hint of its cachet at the time.

For more on the subject, you can find a plethora of detail in Martin Booth's book below:


Martin Booth: Opium: A History (1996)
Martin Booth. Opium: A History. 1996. Pocket Books. London: Simon & Schuster Ltd., 1997.

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There are many handsome illustrated and small-press editions of De Quincey's Confessions. I've listed a few of the ones I own here, along with some more general bibliographical details:
Books I own are marked in bold:


    Thomas De Quincey: Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1948)

    The Folio Society
    [1947- ]

    1. The Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, by Thomas de Quincey. 10 wood-engravings by Blair Hughes-Stanton. Bound in black cloth blocked with a gilt design. White dust-jacket printed in red and black. 220 pp. 22.2 x 14.1 cm.
      • Thomas De Quincey. Confessions of an English Opium-Eater. 1821 & 1856. Illustrations Engraved on Wood by Blair Hughes-Stanton. London: The Folio Society, 1948.

    Thomas De Quincey: Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1948)



    1. Herman Melville. Moby Dick. Introduction by Montgomery Belgion (1946)

    2. Gilbert White. The Natural History of Selborne. Edited and with an introduction by James Fisher. Illustrated by Clair Oldham (1947)

    3. Celia Fiennes. The Journeys of Celia Fiennes. Edited from the original MS and with an introduction and notes by Christopher Morris. Preface by G. M. Trevelyan (1947)

    4. George Crabbe. The Life of George Crabbe by his son. Introduction by Edmund Blunden (1947)
      • Crabbe, George, the Younger. The Life of George Crabbe by His Son. Introduction by Edmund Blunden. The Cresset Library. Ed. John Hayward. London: The Cresset Press, 1947.
    5. James Hogg. The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. Introduction by Andre Gide (1947)

    6. Sheridan Le Fanu. Uncle Silas. Introduction by Elizabeth Bowen (1947)

    7. John Stuart Mill. Autobiography. Introduction by C. S. Young (1947)

    8. George Borrow. The Romany Rye. Introduction by Walter Starkie (1948)

    9. Eugène Fromentin. Dominique. Trans. Sir Edward Marsh (1948)

    10. Leigh Hunt. The Autobiography of Leigh Hunt. Ed. J.E. Morpurgo (1948)
      • The Autobiography of Leigh Hunt. Ed. J. E. Morpugo. 1948. The Cresset Library. Ed. John Hayward. London: The Cresset Press, 1949.
    11. R. E. Raspe. Singular Travels, Campaigns and Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Ed. John Carswell. Illustrated by Leslie Wood (1948)
      • Raspe, R. E., & others. Singular Travels, Campaigns and Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Introduction by John Carswell. Illustrated by Leslie Wood. London: The Cresset Press, 1948.
    12. John Aubrey. Brief Lives. Ed. Anthony Powell (1949)
      • Aubrey, John. Brief Lives and Other Selected Writings. Ed. Anthony Powell. The Cresset Library. Ed. John Hayward. London: The Cresset Press, 1949.
    13. James Morier. The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan. Introduction by Richard Jennings (1949)

    14. Jonathan Swift. Selected Prose Works of Jonathan Swift. Ed. John Hayward (1949)

    15. Samuel L. Clemens. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Introduction by T. S. Eliot (1950)

    16. James Cook. The Voyages of Captain Cook. Ed. Christopher Lloyd (1949)

    17. Thomas De Quincey. The Opium Eater and Autobiography. Ed. Edward Sackville-West (1950)
      • De Quincey, Thomas. Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, Together with Selections from the Autobiography. Ed. Edward Sackville-West. London: The Cresset Press, 1950.
    18. Ivan Turgenev. On The Eve. Trans. Moura Budberg (1950)

    19. Ivan Turgenev. A Sportsman's Notebook. Trans. Charles & Natasha Hepburn (1950)
      • Turgenev, Ivan. A Sportsman’s Notebook. 1852. Trans. Charles & Natasha Hepburn. Illustrated by Mary Kessel. 1950. London: The Book Society, 1959.
    20. Robert Southey. Letters From England. Ed. Jack Simmons (1951)

    21. Alfred de Vigny. The Military Necessity (Servitude et Grandeur militaires). Trans. Humphrey Hare (1953)

    22. Thomas Bewick. A Memoir of Thomas Bewick written by Himself. Ed. Montagu Weckley. With wood engravings by Thomas Bewick (1961)

    Thomas De Quincey: Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1950)



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    Thomas de Quincey: Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1956)

    Macdonald Illustrated Classics
    [1948-1961]
    General Editor: Malcolm Elwin

    1. Westward Ho!, by Charles Kingsley, illustrated by Hookway Cowles (1948)

    2. Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Broom Lynne (1948)

    3. A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, by Laurence Sterne, with an introduction by John Cowper Powys, illustrated by Brian Robb (1948)

    4. Emma, by Jane Austen, illustrated by Philip Gough (1948)

    5. Shelley’s Poems, selected and with an introduction by Morchard Bishop, illustrated with Reproductions Of Paintings, Etc. (1949)

    6. Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens, with Original Illustrations by George Cruikshank (1949)

    7. Hazlitt’s Essays: A Selection, with an introduction by Catherine Macdonald Maclean, illustrated with Reproductions Of Paintings, Etc. (1949)

    8. Tristram Shandy, by Laurence Sterne, with an introduction by John Cowper Powys, illustrated by Brian Robb (1949)

    9. Barnaby Rudge, by Charles Dickens, with Original Illustrations by Phiz and George Cattermole (1949)

    10. The Autobiography and Journals Of Benjamin Robert Haydon, with an introduction by Malcolm Elwin, illustrated with Reproductions Of Paintings (1950)
      • The Autobiography and Journals of Benjamin Robert Haydon (1786-1846). 1853. Ed. Malcolm Elwin. Macdonald Illustrated Classics. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers ) Ltd., 1950.
    11. A Tale Of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, with original illustrations by Phiz (1949, CM 1950)

    12. Lorna Doone, by R. D. Blackmore, illustrated by Broom Lynne (1950)

    13. The Old Curiosity Shop, by Charles Dickens, with Original Illustrations by Phiz (1950)

    14. The Essays of Elia, by Charles Lamb, Comprising The Essays Of Elia and The Last Essays Of Elia, with an introduction by Malcolm Elwin, illustrated with Reproductions Of Prints and Engravings (1952)
      • Lamb, Charles. The Essays of Elia: Including Elia and The Last Essays of Elia. 1823 & 1833. Ed. Malcolm Elwin. Macdonald Illustrated Classics, 14. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1952.
    15. The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas, illustrated by Hookway Cowles (1950)

    16. Vanity Fair, by W. M. Thackeray, illustrated by The Author (1950)

    17. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories, by Robert Louis Stevenson, with an introduction by Compton Mackenzie, illustrated by Stein (1950)

    18. The Essays Of Robert Louis Stevenson, with an introduction by Malcolm Elwin, illustrated with Portraits, Engravings, Etc. (1950)

    19. Tennyson’s Poems, selected with an introduction by John Gawsworth, illustrated with reproductions of portraits and prints (1951)

    20. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Marcus Stone (1951)

    21. Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, with an introduction by James Hanley, illustrated by Stein (1952)

    22. Kenilworth, by Sir Walter Scott, illustrated by Hookway Cowles (1953)

    23. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, illustrated by Philip Gough (1951)

    24. The Personal History of David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne (1952)

    25. The Complete English Poems of Milton, by John Milton; introduction by John Gawsworth (1953)

    26. The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling, by Henry Fielding, illustrated by Brian Robb (1953)

    27. Christmas Books, by Charles Dickens, illustrated by John Leech (1953)

    28. The Life of Nelson, by Robert Southey, introduction by E.R.H. Harvey (1953)

    29. Complete Poems, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1952)

    30. Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, by Thomas De Quincey, introduction by Malcolm Elwin (1956)
      • De Quincey, Thomas. Confessions of an English Opium-Eater in Both the Revised and the Original Texts, with its Sequels Suspiria de Profundis and The English Mail-Coach. Ed. Malcolm Elwin. Macdonald Illustrated Classics. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1956.
    31. The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, by James Boswell, illustrated by Thomas Rowlandson (1956)

    32. Bleak House, by Charles Dickens (1955)

    33. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë, illustrated by W. Stein (1955)

    34. Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen (1957)

    35. Jane Eyre: An Autobiography, by Charlotte Brontë, illustrated by Lynton Lamb. (1955)

    36. Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Marcus Stone (1957)

    37. Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen, illustrated by Philip Gough (1958)

    38. Rural Rides, by William Cobbett, illustrated by Gillray (1958)

    39. The Bible in Spain, by George Borrow (1959)

    40. Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen, illustrated by Philip Gough (1961)

    41. Persuasion, by Jane Austen, illustrated by Philip Gough (1961)

    Thomas De Quincey: Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1956)



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    Laurence W. Chaves: Cover for Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1932)

    Let's conclude, then, with a selection of some of the more eccentric illustrations De Quincey's work has attracted over the years:










    Willy Pogany: The Daughter of Lebanon (1935)



    Willy Pogany: The Pleasures of Opium (1935)



    Willy Pogany: The Pains of Opium (1935)





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1 comment:

  1. Richard21 November 2022 at 00:08

    Some amazing illustrations. It makes me want to re-read De Quincey's book. I also have a book of the many essays he wrote. Opium was used as it was cheaper then that alcohol as the British had forced the Chinese to accept importation of opium after the war of that name. Also the whole area of China and Indochina became very profitable to many people. It has been argued that the Vietnam (The American-French) War was motivated by the drug trade...a continuation of the opiates etc and so on. Meanwhile the use of narcotics and opiates continues. But Coleridge suffered from terrible nightmares. I think I also have two editions of 'The Confessions'. One is a Macdonald Classic which has biographical information and as I just noticed, illustrations! I must have read the paper back Everyman's Edition, I also sometimes have more than one edition and it is tempting to collect by the publisher. And for the illustrations and artwork etc. I certainly like illustrated books. But long live the collectors! You have a great amassment. And often the books have actually been read! Of course, you undoubtedly have many books of reference etc or books of essays you dip into. Then there are those things one goes deeper into. The biographies look interesting. Not relevant to the subject but I just realized I had read, as far as I know, very little of Edward Thomson of 'The Hounds of Hell' and at Poetry Live Aidan Howard has twice read his poem that combines part of that poem with The Sartyricon and a strong emotional and somewhat tragic poem. But while I have a copy of that writer, I wondered more about his life as he too was addicted to opium and sadly died at about 48 of tuberculosis.
    Re De Qiuncey, I have 'Protestantism and other Essays' in an old vol.. (1862, Adam & Charles Black, Edinburgh) Volume 7, of his works I presume the complete. It reads well (I only dipped into it) but again, how many volumes other than the 7 do I lack. Not that I would ever read more than a fraction. Well Jack, your obsession, passion, addiction continues! Long may it! Long live Bibliophiles and readers of "real books".... well...yes...what is a real book, what is writing....etc

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