Thomas De Quincey (1785-1859) is considered one of the most important English prose writers of the early-19th century. This is the first part of a 21-volume set presenting De Quincey’s work, also including previously unpublished material. De Quincy deeply influenced Edgar Allan Poe and numbers Dickens, Proust and Virginia Woolf among his many fans. Highlights of this volume include: De Quincy on murder; Autobiographical Sketches , his 1803 diary; writings on politics, economics, and literary theory; and his contributions to the Edinburgh Saturday Post . Volume 2 publishes the transcript to the manuscript of Part 1 of Confessions of an English Opium Eater .