[Review of the Edinburgh Review for June 1827; Part One of Two]

First published Edinburgh Saturday Post, 28 July 1827, pp. 94–5. Reprinted Tave, pp. 32–40 (with attribution, pp. 54–9). A later critique of the Edinburgh Review, which was certainly by De Quincey, refers to an anecdote in this two-part article with the words, ‘We guessed what would come of ducal horsewhippings’ (see below, p. 142). Even without that evidence, this early piece would be attributable to De Quincey by virtue of its veiled references to his friend John Wilson, its wit and style, its informed interest in German literature and Jean-Paul Richter, and its allusions to The Vicar of Wakefield, Sir Thomas Browne, and the economic theories of David Ricardo.