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June 9, 1870

 

Dickens died on June 9, 1870. Genius is inexplicable and intriguing. An attention to details has been called an aspect of genius. We notice in a letter Dickens wrote in 1867, describing a rough Atlantic crossing as he begins a reading tour, that he finds time to notice a white cat on the ship with him. This cat belonged to American Southerners who had fled to Europe after the end of their Civil War. Now the family returns, bringing their cat, home.

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