If you are choosing between several editions of the -Opium Eater-, this one is the one you want.

True, it does not have Alethea Hayter's introduction, like the Penguin edition has; that being a point in that one's favour. But here you -also- get the entire -Suspiria de Profundis-, which is in many ways more beautiful and interesting than the Opium Eater itself. -Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow- must surely be the single greatest prose poem ever written in English.

The -Suspiria- was intended as a sequel to the -Opium Eater-, and those who enjoy the one will want them both.

This masterpiece of literature is a fascinating account of the pains and pleasures of opium as well as an autobiographical account of his youth. This books illustrates that sometimes moral or other world issues are not always in black and white. A sensitive and beautiful man, de Quincy's great book is a treasure!!!!

This is an excellent, fluidly written book which explores the life and writing of John Keats. Aileen Ward writes from a psychological perspective and seems to enter deeply into the inner workings of the poet. She describes his development with sensitivity and elegance. Her writing is seamless, and although she explores Keats's life thoroughly, the text never seems weighed down by detail. Ward's account may seem in certain sections to idealize Keats as 'the poet' and set him above the 'common man.' She can also seem subtly manipulative in her treatment of his life and the psychological journey that she believes him to have undertaken. At times, the reader wonders how she could write so authoritatively on Keats's inner life. However, despite these issues, Ward's biography is extremely valuable for anyone who wishes to better know Keats and his life. It is a perfect book for the beginning Keats scholar-- a deeply-felt biography which seems true to its subject in style as well as form.