In 1821 he went to London to dispose of some translations from German
authors, but was persuaded first to write and publish an account of his
opium experiences, which accordingly appeared in the _London
Magazine_ in that year. This new sensation eclipsed Lamb's _Essays
of Elia_, which were appearing in the same periodical. The
_Confessions of an English Opium-Eater_ was forthwith published in
book form. De Quincey now made literary acquaintances. Tom Hood found
the shrinking author "at home in a German ocean of literature, in a
storm, flooding all the floor, the tables, and the chairs--billows of
books." Richard Woodhouse speaks of the "depth and reality of his
knowledge. ... His conversation appeared like the elaboration of a mine
of results. ... Taylor led him into political economy, into the Greek
and Latin accents, into antiquities, Roman roads, old castles, the
origin and analogy of languages; upon all these he was informed to
considerable minuteness. The same with regard to Shakespeare's sonnets,
Spenser's minor poems, and the great writers and characters of
Elizabeth's age and those of Cromwell's time."
From this time on De Quincey maintained himself by contributing to
various magazines. He soon exchanged London and the Lakes for Edinburgh
and its suburb, Lasswade, where the remainder of his life was spent.
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