Christina Rossetti

Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830–1894) was an English lyric poet and a central creative force within the Pre-Raphaelite circle alongside her brothers Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Michael Rossetti. Educated at home in London by her devout mother, she modeled for early Pre-Raphaelite paintings before devoting her life to Anglo-Catholic faith, charity work with destitute women, and poetry.

Her 1862 collection Goblin Market and Other Poems established her as the foremost female poet of her generation. 'Goblin Market'—a richly allegorical narrative of two sisters tempted by sinister merchant goblins—dazzles with lush sensual imagery, moral resilience, and sisterly redemption. Rossetti also composed beloved devotional hymns, including 'In the Bleak Midwinter', and sonnets on death, memory, and spiritual longing.