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Download Confessions of an English Opium Eater Audiobook (Unabridged)

Extended Audio Sample Confessions of an English Opium Eater (Unabridged) Audiobook, by Thomas De Quincey
2.88 out of 52.88 out of 52.88 out of 52.88 out of 52.88 out of 5 2.88 (8 ratings) (rate this audio book) Author: Thomas De Quincey Narrator: Thomas Witworth Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc. Format: Unabridged Audiobook Delivery: Instant Download Audio Length: Release Date: November 2004 ISBN:
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Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, Thomas De Quincey's best-known work, is an account of his early life and opium addiction, in prose that is by turns witty, conversational, and nightmarish.

The Confessions involve the listener in De Quincey's childhood and schooling, describing in detail his flight at age 16 from Manchester Grammar School, his wanderings in North Wales and London, and his experiences with opium, which began while he was a student at Oxford and developed into a lifelong dependency.

Said critic Grevel Lindop, The drug that brings an 'assuaging balm' to the wounded heart extracts a price, alienating the hero from humanity and offering only intangible, though exalted, compensations.

Said De Quincey himself, when looking for relief from excruciating pain, By accident I met a college acquaintance who recommended opium. Opium! Dread agent of unimaginable pleasure and pain! I had heard of it as I had of manna or of ambrosia, but no further: how unmeaning a sound it was at that time!

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Listener Opinions

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Danielroffle | 5/20/2011

    " De Quincey makes a pretty big deal out of opium not being as bad as people think and then undermines his stance with some pretty sordid drug tales. Still a pretty interesting piece of autobiography. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Jane | 4/30/2011

    " Interesting, and I'm definitely glad I finally read it, but it really wasn't as exciting as I thought it might be. de Quincey manages to make being an opium addict sound quite mundane. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Brendan | 4/10/2011

    " Getting high long before Irvine Welsh's 'Trainspotting' and Nikki Sixx's 'The Heroin Diaries'. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Timothy | 2/26/2011

    " Very interesting guy with a very interesting tale to tell. The life story was a little dull, but the tales of being hooked on opium were fun. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Amy | 1/27/2011

    " Well, I'm reading the ebook, and it's Project Gutenberg, which I don't see in the list for this title, so I'm choosing this one by default; too lazy to "create a new book." "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Paul | 11/25/2010

    " Like a fruity red wine on a winters evening. One should also be sporting some Lionel Jeffries facial hair when reading. Very poetic, evocative, beautiful.
    Something compelling about reading a book of this vintage on a mobile phone (via DailyLit). Holmes next, Cumberbatch would approve. "

  • 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5 Lisa | 6/30/2010

    " Read this for a very specialized English class - the literature of addiction. Avoid if at all possible. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Ali | 6/28/2010

    " I really enjoyed this book. It feels honest and I loved the mad digressions! "

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About the Author
Author Thomas De Quincey

Thomas De Quincey (1785–1859) was born in Manchester, England, the son of a textile merchant. After his father’s early death, he was sent away to school, but he ran away to wander in North Wales and London. He later attended Oxford where he befriended Coleridge and William and Dorothy Wordsworth. The success of his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater launched him in a career as an essayist and critic. De Quincey’s work was widely admired, but he spent much of his life in poverty and debt until the last decade of his life.

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