Editing Edwin Forrest (section)

==Later stage career==
[[File:Edwin Forrest c. 1860.jpg|thumb|right|Forrest c. 1860-70 ]]
In 1853, he played Macbeth, with a strong cast and fine scenery, at the [[Old Broadway Theatre|Broadway Theatre]] for four weeks—an unprecedented run at that date. He became interested in politics, being spoken of as a candidate for congress. In 1860, he appeared at [[Niblo's Garden]], New York, as Hamlet, and played the most successful engagement of his life. Some news reports at that time said he had been retired from acting for several years, although there are also numerous newspapers accounts of his performances in different cities between 1853 and 1860. Hereditary gout developed itself in a malignant form in 1865, during an engagement at the [[Holliday Street Theatre]] in [[Baltimore, Maryland]] the [[sciatic nerve]] was paralyzed, and he never regained the use of his hand or his steady gait. His California tour in 1866 was a failure. He played his last New York engagement in February 1871, the plays being ''[[Richelieu (play)|Richelieu]]'' and ''King Lear''. The weather was cold, and the houses empty.

In October 1871, Forrest commenced his last annual tour, starting at the Walnut Theater in his home town of Philadelphia. He passed through Columbus, OH; Cincinnati, OH; New Orleans, LA; Galveston, TX; Nashville, TN; Kansas City, MO<!--MO is a guess-->; Leavenworth, KS; St. Louis, MO; Pittsburgh, PA; Detroit, MI; Buffalo, NY; and by late February the Opera House in Rochester, NY; February 27 through March 1. From Rochester he traveled on to Boston, MA.<ref>Philadelphia Inquirer October 16, 1871; Portsmouth, Ohio, Daily Times October 28, 1871; Cincinnati Enquirer September 11, 1871; New Orleans Times Democrat November 24, 1871; Galveston Daily News August 12, 1871; Nashville Union and American December 23, 1871; New Orleans Times Democrat, December 31, 1871, Atchinson, Kansas, Daily Champion December 30, 1871; Atlanta Constitution January 19, 1872; Pittsburgh Commercial, January 29, 1872; Detroit Free Press April 2, 1872; Detroit Free Press June 2, 1872; Washington, DC National Republican February 24, 1872; Rochester Democrat & Chronicle February 26, 1872; Detroit Free Press March 24, 1872; Rochester Democrat & Chronicle April 4, 1872, Baltimore Sun June 4, 1872</ref>

[[File:Appletons' Forrest Edwin castle.jpg|thumb|Forrest's castle-like mansion by the [[Hudson River]] in New York]]

On the night of March 25, 1872, he appeared in [[Boston, Massachusetts]] at the [[Globe Theatre, Boston (1871)|Globe Theatre]], as Lear, played this part six times, and was announced for Richelieu and Virginius, but on the intervening Sunday he caught cold. He struggled through the role of Richelieu on Monday night, and rare bursts of eloquence lighted the gloom, but he labored piteously against the disease which was fast conquering him. Being offered stimulants, he signed them away, with the words, "If I die, I will still be my royal self." This was his last appearance as an actor. He eventually recovered from the severe attack of pneumonia. The craving for public applause, which was his only happiness, induced him to give readings from Shakespeare in several large cities. The scheme failed, and was abandoned, to his deep mortification.<ref name="appletons" />

A stroke of paralysis ended his life suddenly and without pain. His servant found him dead, alone, and apparently asleep, in his home in Philadelphia December 12, 1872. His body was interred in Old Saint Paul's Episcopal Church Cemetery, Philadelphia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://findingaids.library.upenn.edu/|title=Philadelphia Area Archives|website=Findingaids.library.upenn.edu}}</ref> The large sums that he had earned on the stage were judiciously and fortunately invested, and resulted in his amassing a large fortune. He had purchased, about 1850, a site on the banks of the [[Hudson River|Hudson]], on which he erected a castellated structure. This estate, which he named [[Fonthill Castle and the Administration Building of the College of Mount St. Vincent|Fonthill]], he afterward sold at a large advance for a convent, which later became the [[College of Mount Saint Vincent]]. In 1855 he purchased his mansion in Philadelphia, to which he retired after his temporary abandonment of the stage. There he collected the largest dramatic library in the United States. By avoiding New York and by legal evasions he succeeded in escaping the payment of alimony to his wife, but left his estate heavily in her debt.<ref name="appletons"/>