ABSTRACT
The new edition of Thomas De Quincey collected Works, displaying for the first time the full range of his writing for the periodical press, suggests that the conditions under which his writing was produced and published will become an important context for reappraising his work. An examination of the ways in which De Quincey 'anxiety of reception' issues strategically in his practice as a magazine journalist will also lead us to re-evaluate his representations of women. De Quincey wrote with the aim of attracting a broad audience with a wide spectrum of educational backgrounds. De Quincey working relationship with Christian Johnstone, and his awareness of the prominence she was giving to women's writing and gender issues in the magazine also appears to have had a distinct influence on the content of his articles for Tait's.
