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A notorious success since its 1821 publication, the work has been an important influence on philosophers, theorists, and psychologists, as well as literary writers, of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. But Confessions is only one part of a larger confessional project conceived by De Quincey over the course of his writing career. Gathered together in this edition, these texts provide a fascinating glimpse of early nineteenth-century British aesthetic, medical, psychological, political, philosophical, social, racial, national, and imperialist attitudes.
Reviews
"This is by far the best paperback edition of De Quincey's Confessions ever to be published. Joel Faflak's comprehensive introduction demonstrates both why De Quincey is fascinatingly of our own moment, and how he speaks to the complex interplay between the literary avant-garde and imperialist geopolitics during the early nineteenth century. The text is thoroughly annotated and its abundant allusions explained. Especially useful are the appendices that locate the Confessions in literary, social, and political history, illuminating the role played by the opium trade in Britain's colonial mission, as well as how opium use was understood in the medical literature of the time. Faflak's expert editing gives us a De Quincey who is richer and stranger than ever before." - Margaret Russett, University of Southern California
Pages | 368 |
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Date Published | 28 Feb 2009 |
Publisher | Broadview Press |
Subject/s | Literature & literary studies   |