Wasn’t dying about Dickens (5)
I believe the answer is:
devil
'dickens' is the definition.
(Dickens is an old name for the Devil)
'wasn't dying about' is the wordplay.
'wasn't dying' becomes 'lived' (living is the opposite of dying).
'about' says the letters should be written backwards.
'lived' backwards is 'DEVIL'.
(Other definitions for devil that I've seen before include "Lucifer" , "Archfiend" , "Beast" , "Coat spicily; do hackwork" , "Unsurpassed" .)