Confessions of an English Opium Eater. Suspiria de Profundis

Thomas de Quincey’s autobiographical text has amazed readers for more than a century with its frankness. “Confessions of an English Opium Eater” and “Suspiria de Profundis” are examples of descriptions of the pleasures and pains of using opium tincture, or laudanum (at that time a legal painkiller). The author describes his surreal dreams, delusions, nightmares, paranoia, and health problems that arose as a result of consuming this substance.

The memoirs and self-analysis are interspersed with quotations from classical works and biblical verses, prominent poems, and verses; this edition is also supplemented with translator’s notes that improve the understanding of this truly philosophical treatise. For the first time, Ukrainian readers will be presented with “Suspiria de Profundis,” which is a logical continuation of “Confessions,” where Thomas de Quincey moves on to advocating the “fall,” emphasizing the circumstances in which he found himself. These two texts are a speech by an experimenter who reveals to readers the taboo topic of drug addiction.