Thomas de Quincey & Sheba Blake 
Confessions of an English Opium Eater 

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater is an autobiographical account written by Thomas De Quincey, about his laudanum (opium and alcohol) 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. As originally published, De Quincey’s account was organized 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 installment 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. The cover of Thomas De Quincey’s book Confessions of an Opium-Eater. This version was published by the Mershon Company in 1898.

About the author

As part of our mission to publish great works of literary fiction and nonfiction, Sheba Blake Publishing has begun its publishing empire with some of the most popular and beloved classic e Books and Paperbacks. We are extremely dedicated to bringing to the forefront the amazing works of long dead and truly talented authors. Sheba Blake Publishing has created its collection of numerous classic e Books and Paperbacks, specifically dedicated to bringing back in e Book and Paperback form works of worthy authors. Included in our current and forthcoming list of some 450 titles includes A Christmas Carol, A Journey to the Center of the Earth, A Martian Odyssey, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Cinderella and the list continues. The process to convert and distribute our e Book and Paperback titles can be quite time consuming, but the work is beyond worth the effort, with us having some of the most colorful and delightful covers you have seen in a while. We also hope to eventually add print books to our beautiful catalogue. Our works are made available to the reading public in the form of e Books compatible with all currently available e Book platforms, distributed both directly from Sheba Blake Publishing’s website and through various e Book resellers including i Bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and many more. Sheba Blake Publishing is like our second child, it’s very dear to us and we want more than anything to see it succeed and send it off into the world like the proud mama’s we are! Sheba Blake Publishing is slowly becoming a beautiful reality to all readers. We greatly appreciate ANY and ALL support that has been given to us, and we love all of those dreaming readers who continue to purchase our titles and help us grow.