his release from prison, John Dickens immediately wrote begging letters to those same friends of his son also asking for money. He wrote to Thomas Beard claiming that his son Alfred "is walking to and from Hampstead daily in dancing Pumps". Later years Later he became a journalist, and in 1828 a parliamentary reporter, like his famous son before him. When Charles Dickens gained fame as a writer John Dickens frequently embarrassed his son by seeking loans from Charles's friends and publishers behind his back and by selling pages from his son's early manuscripts. By 1836 John, his wife and youngest son Augustus Dickens were lodging at Edward Street, just north of the City Road. Edward Street was later renamed Micawber Street. Concerned about his father's financial problems, in March 1839 Charles Dickens rented Mile End Cottage in Alphington for his parents and youngest brother Augustus. The intention was to remove John as far away from London as possible in a comfortable residence, while reducing embarrassment to Charles. However, John Dickens merely continued to write to Charles's friends and publishers asking for money. He and his wife returned to London in 1842. On 31 March 1851 John Dickens died of a urethral infection. According to a letter that Charles Dickens sent to his wife, John Dickens had been suffering from a bladder disease but had kept the condition secret until little could be done. After an operation, John Dickens lingered for several days before he died. The death certificate listed the cause of death as: "Rupture of the urethra from old standing stricture and consequent mortification of the scrotum from infiltration of urine." Dickens depicted his father in the character of Wilkins Micawber in his semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield. Micawber lived at Windsor Terrace, City Road. This is just south of Micawber Street which was previously named Edward Street. John Dickens was buried in Highgate Cemetery, where in 1863 his remains were joined by those of his wife, Elizabeth. Children of John Dickens Frances (Fanny) Elizabeth Dickens (1810–1848) Charles Dickens (1812–1870) Alfred Allan Dickens (1814–1814) Letitia Dickens (1816–1893) Harriet Dickens (1819–1824) Frederick Dickens (1820–1868) Alfred Lamert Dickens (1822–1860) Augustus Dickens (1827–1866) In popular culture John Dickens is played by Jonathan Pryce in the 2017 film, The Man Who Invented Christmas, which portrays the 1843 writing and production of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. See also Dickens family References External links