Confessions of an English Opium Eater

»Confessions of an English Opium-man» (1812) relates Thomas De Quincey's early life and experiences of opium addiction at a time when that drug was widely used for the relief of pain, and before its addictive qualities were properly understood. It is a work which encompasses amusement with nightmare as the author experiences in turn the marvels of opium-induced dreams and the equally vivid nightmares which are their counterpoint.