Life and Death of Dickens

Dickens’ last years were stressful ones.  He was extremely busy with his readings which were immensely popular.  He lived in the country house he had bought -Gads Hill, Kent… with Georgina Hogarth still presiding as housekeeper.  Catherine lived in London.  He had constant stress with his boys, trying to place them in good situations and hoping that they would not turn out like his father… improvident and thoughtless.  His daughters married parlty to get away from the house, because  of the strain of their fathers separation from their mother.

Georgina seems to have been rather callous about her sister, who had been cast off and unkindly treated by Dickens, and it seemed as if her affection and loyalty were to him rather than to her own flesh and blood.  She clearly enjoyed the position of keeping house for such a famous man, and being his friend and confidante.   He was one of the most popular novelists of his time and even now his works have never been out of print…

His readings were well attended and he threw himself into them, particularly in acting out such high drama scenes as the murder of Nancy by Bill Sikes.  His health was getting worse.  He had gout which made it difficult for him to take the long walks that he had loved and which he felt were necessary “stress busters”-which helped him to keep fit and happy.

In 1869, he began to suffer more and more with his health, but kept on with his punishing schedule of tours with his readings, and in April, that year he suffered a stroke.  He had to cancel his tour, and his doctors were increasingly concerned about his health.  He started to write his final Novel, Edwin Drood, and later on decided (with medical approval) to do some more readings to make up to his fans and sponsors.  But he was getting more worn out. In June 1870 at the age of 58, he had another stroke, and never recovered, dying within a few days. 

Although he had wanted to be buried privately and quietly in Rochester, he was too famous a person for this.  He was given a funeral at Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey.