Gissing's tombstone in the English cemetery at St. Jean de Luz
Ispoure, France
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In May 1899, after a liaison of some ten months, Gissing and his French translator, Gabrielle Marie Edith Fleury (1868–1954), moved to France. He died in the house in Ispoure. He’d been ill for years — and moved to France to be with his third common-law wife. They moved south to St. Jean de Luz and Ispoure for the climate, said to be beneficial for people with emphysema. He'd been working on his last, uncompleted, novel Veranilda, set in sixth-century Rome and surrounding areas, from 1900 to 1901, then took it up again in 1903. But he died with five chapters unfinished. It was published posthumously in 1904. Also, he wrote Will Warburton from 10 July 1902 to 14 March, 1903 (published posthumously in 1905). He also wrote a short story, "Topham's Chance," in 1903.
Photograph taken by Malcolm Allen on 15 July, 2009