Despite the critical success of her work, Mew did not earn enough money to support herself as well as her mother and sister. In 1916, the house they lived in was condemned.[14]
After the death of her sister from cancer in 1927, Mew continued to live at 64, Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square. She descended into a deep depression and was admitted to the Beaumont Street Nursing Home in Marylebone,[14][21] where she committed suicide by drinking Lysol, a disinfectant.[22] After Mew's death, her friend Alida Monro (who was married to Harold Monro, publisher of Mew's first book), collected and edited her poetry for publication as The Rambling Sailor, released in 1929.[14]
Mew is buried in the northern part of Hampstead Cemetery in London.[23]