Suspiria de Profundis · Chapter
Editor's Preface explained
The preface outlines the complex publication history of Thomas De Quincey's Suspiria de Profundis, originally published in Blackwood's Magazine in 1845 as a sequel to Confessions of an English Opium-Eater.
What happens
The preface outlines the complex publication history of Thomas De Quincey's Suspiria de Profundis, originally published in Blackwood's Magazine in 1845 as a sequel to Confessions of an English Opium-Eater. It details the various editions, including the Collected Works versions and posthumous publications, and explains the editorial choices made for this digital transcription, such as the ordering suggested by Alexander H. Japp and the removal of a duplicated paragraph.
Characters to notice
- Thomas De Quincey
Author of the Suspiria, whose complex publication history and unfulfilled plan for a single volume are discussed.
Key passages
“De Quincey originally published them in Blackwood’s Magazine in 1845, intending them to be a kind of sequel to his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater.”
De Quincey first released the Suspiria in Blackwood's Magazine in 1845, planning them as a follow-up to his earlier work Confessions of an English Opium-Eater.
Establishes the original publication context and the author's intent.
“De Quincey ultimately planned for the Suspiria to be published together in a single volume. Unfortunately he didn’t live to see his plan completed, and today only those Suspiria remain that escaped time, fire, and addiction.”
De Quincey intended to collect all the Suspiria into one book, but he died before achieving this, so only the pieces that survived decay, destruction, and his opium addiction are extant.
Highlights the tragic incompleteness of the work and the forces that shaped its survival.