In 1865 Dickens was involved in the Staplehurst Rail Crash (whilst travelling with Ms Ternan) and it is thought that this was the beginning of the decline in his health. His work output was dramatically reduced, finishing only one novel and starting another, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. He spent his time on reading tours of the British Isles and America and, in 1870 he became ill whilst on tour. This downturn in health has been partly ascribed to the vast amounts of energy that he put into reading with different character voices!

Charles Dickens died at home, in Kent, on 9th June 1870 and was buried in the Poets Corner of Westminster Abbey.

The inscription on his tomb reads:

“He was a sympathiser to the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England’s greatest writers is lost to the world”.

He was mourned by legions of readers and social reformers alike.