Thomas De Quincey

English essayist, critic, and prose stylist of the Romantic era (1785-1859)

3 quotes in the MindQuotes library.

About

Thomas De Quincey was an English writer born in Manchester and died in Edinburgh. He is best known for his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, published in 1821, which describe his experiences with laudanum. Settling in the Lake District, he associated with Wordsworth and Coleridge. His poetic, dreamlike style influenced writers such as Poe, Baudelaire, and Borges. He contributed to many periodicals, including Blackwood's Magazine.

* 1785-08-15 — † 1859-12-08

Major works

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1821)autobiography
On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth (1823)essay
On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts (1827)essay
Suspiria de Profundis (1845)essay
The English Mail-Coach (1849)essay

Key milestones

1809Settles in the Lake District, living at Dove Cottage, Wordsworth's former home.
1821Publication of Confessions of an English Opium-Eater in the London Magazine.
1859Dies in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Themes

Dream and imaginationAddiction and dependenceThe city and modernityDeath and the macabreMemory and time

Sources: britannica.com · manuscripts.nls.uk

“If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination.”

— Thomas De QuinceyTheme · Society

Create visual

“The great art of life is to play for a long time, but to play for a small stake.”

— Thomas De QuinceyTheme · Wisdom

Create visual

“Books, we know, are a substantial world, both in themselves and in their relations.”

— Thomas De QuinceyTheme · Literature

Create visual