Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1821) relates Thomas De Quincey"s early life and experiences of opium addiction at the time when that drug was widely used for the relief of pain, and before its addictive qualities were properly understood. It is a work which encompasses amusement with nightmare as the author experiences in turn the marvels of opium-induced dreams and equally vivid nightmares which are their counterpart.