Publisher Description

'For if once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination' Thomas De Quincey's three essays 'On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts' centre on the notorious career of the murderer John Williams, who in 1811 brutally killed seven people in London's East End. De Quincey'sresponse to Williams's attacks turns morality on its head, celebrating and coolly dissecting the art of murder and its perfections. Ranging from gruesomely vivid reportage and brilliantly funny satiric high jinks topenetrating literary and aesthetic criticism, the essays had a remarkable impact on crime, terror, and detective fiction, as well as on the rise of nineteenth-century decadence. The volume also contains De Quincey's best-known piece of literary criticism, 'On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth', and his finest tale of terror, 'The Avenger', a disturbing exploration of violence, vigilantism, and religious persecution. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 yearsOxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus awealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Notes

A collection of De Quincey's most memorable essays.

Author Biography

Robert Morrison is co-editor of the multi-volume The Works of Thomas De Quincey and editor of Volume Three of The Selected Works of Leigh Hunt.

Table of Contents

On the Knocking at the Gate in MacbethOn Murder Considered as One of the Fine ArtsThe AvengerSecond Paper on Murder Considered as One of the Fine ArtsPostscript [to On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts]

Review

An edition like this of De Quincey's most memorable essays was badly needed. Robert Morrison as editor does a good job indeed! * Dr. Antonio Ballesteros-González, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha *

Long Description

'For if once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination' Thomas De Quincey's three essays 'On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts' centre on the notorious career of the murderer John Williams, who in 1811 brutally killed seven people in London's East End. De Quincey's
response to Williams's attacks turns morality on its head, celebrating and coolly dissecting the art of murder and its perfections. Ranging from gruesomely vivid reportage and brilliantly funny satiric high jinks to
penetrating literary and aesthetic criticism, the essays had a remarkable impact on crime, terror, and detective fiction, as well as on the rise of nineteenth-century decadence. The volume also contains De Quincey's best-known piece of literary criticism, 'On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth', and his finest tale of terror, 'The Avenger', a disturbing exploration of violence, vigilantism, and religious persecution. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years
Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a
wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Review Quote

An edition like this of De Quincey's most memorable essays was badly needed. Robert Morrison as editor does a good job indeed!

Feature

The only edition to include all De Quincey's essays on murder, which contain his most engaging and disturbing thoughts on criminality, art, violence, and the sublime. They are a key contribution to the satiric tradition, and to the literature of terror, decadence, and detection.
The Introduction examines De Quincey's contribution to the literature of crime, violence, decadence, and detection.
The bibliography is the most extensive available on critical responses to De Quincey's essays on murder and violence. The essays have never been annotated so thorougly before. They reveal - often for the first time - De Quincey's debts, remarkable erudition, and encyclopaedic knowledge of contemporary crime.
The appendices contain De Quincey's three little-known manuscript essays 'On Murder'

Details