Thomas De Quincey's highly charged and hauntingly accurate account of laudanum addiction is considered the root of all drug novels. From Poe to Burroughs, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater influenced a variety of literary writers. After being prescribed the drug as pain relief for a chronic condition, De Quincey soon found himself compelled by the opium experience. His dreams are recounted here in every hallucinatory detail: threatening Roman armies, sunken cities, and German mountaintops De Quincey's vivid memories will evoke wonder and curiosity in the listener.