Christina Rossetti

Sister of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, artist and founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Christina Rossetti was an important poet whose work was first published in the Athenaeum, the leading literary weekly, in 1848, and then in the short-lived Pre-Raphaelite newspaper, The Germ, in 1850. Her first and highly praised book of poetry was Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), the title poem of which is her most famous work. It has been varyingly interpreted as an allegory of temptation and salvation, a commentary on Victorian gender roles, and a meditation on erotic desire and social redemption. Although she continued to write and publish for the remainder of her life, often focusing on devotional and children’s themes, she was also involved in much charity work, volunteering at a home for prostitutes and aiding unwed mothers.