The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. 2

This volume gathers a handful of Thomas De Quincey’s lesser‑known essays, rescued from his scattered manuscripts and presented with careful notes by the diligent editor Alexander Japp. The pieces reveal the same restless curiosity that powered his famous “Confessions,” ranging from literary criticism to historical reflection, all filtered through his distinctive blend of wit, melancholy, and philosophical insight.

In the opening essay, De Quincey turns his keen eye to the poet‑philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge, offering a reverent yet probing appraisal that avoids personal reminiscence and instead examines the larger currents of Coleridge’s thought. A second essay ventures into the history of Greece, where De Quincey’s imagination roams over the rise and fall of empires, while shorter studies on the assassination of Caesar and on Cicero display his talent for compact, vivid portraiture. Together they give listeners a taste of a mind that never ceased to interrogate culture, even when his own manuscripts lay unfinished.