ABSTRACT
I. The Years of Storm and Stress, 1850-60 When Marx referred to Engels's years of "storm and stress"l he aptly described the period between Engels's return to Manchester in 1850 and the death of his father in 1860. Engels had a robust constitution but there was a history of epilepsy in his family and he stuttered when excited. The strain of life in Manchester, combined with overwork, led to a breakdown in Engels's health between 1857 and 1860. He was ill for six months in the second half of 1857. And in 1860, when his father died, his brother Emil had to come to Manchester to settle Engels's future in the firm as Engels himself was not well enough to attend to the matter.
