Autobiographical fragment by Thomas De Quincey concerning his diet and health

Scope and Content

Single sheet holograph manuscript

Administrative / Biographical History

Thomas De Quincey (1785-1859), the son of a Manchester merchant, was educated at Oxford where it is believed that his life-long addiction to opium began. He was acquainted with key Romantic writers including Coleridge and Wordsworth. In 1817 he married Peggy Simpson, a farmer's daughter with whom he had 3 daughters and 5 sons. He wrote principally for periodicals, including The London Magazine, Blackwood's and the Quarterly. His best-known work, Confessions of an Opium Eater, was originally serialised in The London Magazine in 1821.

Access Information

Access is unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Purchased from Maggs 7/12/1979

Note

In English