Thomas de Quincey's highly charged and hauntingly accurate account of laudanum addiction is considered the root of all drug novels. From Poe to Burroughs, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater influenced a variety of literary writers. After being prescribed the drug as pain relief for a chronic condition, de Quincey soon found himself compelled by the opium experience. His dreams are recounted here in every hallucinatory detail: threatening Roman armies, sunken cities, and German mountaintops... de Quincey's vivid memories will evoke wonder and curiosity in the listener. Gunnar Cauthery trained at RADA. He has also appeared in This House and The White Guard at the National Theatre, and in Shakespeare productions with Propeller and Shakespeare's Globe. His television work includes The Tudors, The Demon Headmaster and Just William. Films include War Horse and Benjamin Dove.
