[Manchester Grammar School and Oxford University: Three Fragments]

These three fragments (two of them holograph drafts, the other a set of rough page proofs) represent unused material on the Manchester Grammar School and Brasenose College, Oxford, and De Quincey’s experiences there. Since De Quincey’s autobiographical essays dealing with Oxford appeared in February, June and August 1835, it is likely that these fragments were composed in late 1834 or early 1835. They are grouped together here because of the obvious connections between them, and are ordered for coherence of content rather than by chronology. Detailed descriptions are given at the head of each transcript.