WITH UNPUBLISHED CORRESPONDENCE.
By H. A. PAGE,
Author of "Memoir of Hawthorne," "Golden Lives," &c.
The letters comprise nearly one hundred, from Mr. de Quincey to his family, the Wordsworths, and others; and to him from Mr. Thomas Carlyle, Professor Wilson, and others.
Times.—The work is enriched by letters which his two surviving daughters have brought out of long-closed repositories.... In taking leave of this creditable book, we thank Mr. Page for his labour of love, and congratulate him on the collaboration that he has been favoured with.
Academy.—At last we are indulged with a Life of De Quincey, ... and we are mistaken if the result be not to set Thomas de Quincey on a higher pinnacle as a man with conduct and conscience, a man with responsible family relations, a true gentleman as well as a cultivated scholar, than he had hitherto reached. The author is one practised in kindred pursuits, and has had the great advantage of Mr. James Hogg's reminiscences of De Quincey, as well as free access to De Quincey's daughters, and the papers and documents in their possession.
Pall Mall Gazette.—This biography deserves to be commended. Mr. Page's mastery of the subject is evident, and his criticism exhibits many delicate touches.... Among the reminiscences, those by Mr. Hogg will be read with special interest; they give us a life-like portrait of De Quincey, and tell some quaint anecdotes, which give us a better insight into some of his characteristics than the most elaborate disquisition.
Illustrated London News.—It would be as well to consult these two volumes before any rash assertion be made that everybody knows all that can be known, or is worthy of being known, about the celebrated "English Opium-Eater."