When she arrived back in London in 1856, Seacole was bankrupt from debts run up by soldiers at the British Hotel. The newspapers started a public campaign to raise money for her, backed by royalty and a grateful British Army. In 1857 her autobiography, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands, became a bestseller. The Seacole Fund eventually enabled her to live in comfort in Paddington, London, until her death in 1881.