[3][6] In 1884, Frederic went to live in England as London correspondent of the New York Times, and worked at this position for the rest of his life.

[5][7] Frederic covered topics such as the cholera epidemic in southern Europe, various wars and riots, and the Irish Home Rule movement, which he supported.

[7][3] Although Frederic wrote several early stories, it was not until he published Illumination (1896), better known by its American title, The Damnation of Theron Ware, followed by Gloria Mundi (1898), that his talent as a novelist was fully realized.

[9] Damnation became a best seller and is Frederic's best known work;[3] critic Jonathan Yardley called it "a minor classic of realism".

[3] In August 1898, Frederic suffered a stroke, and as Edmund Wilson writes, "The doctors advised him to rest and to adapt himself to more temperate habits, but he dismissed their admonitions with scorn and went on smoking cigars, drinking brandy and whiskey, and riding.