Rossetti, Christina Georgina, 1830-1894

Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) achieved fame in her lifetime as a poet, based primarily upon the publication in 1862 of the volume Goblin Market and Other Poems. She published The Prince's Progress in 1866 and A Pageant in 1881, as well as devotional manuals and works of religious edification, which reflect her profoundly religious temperament. Although her father's anti-establishment influence prevented her from being a Roman Catholic, she was High Church Anglican.

Her older sister Maria Francesca Rossetti (1827-1876) followed her equally strong religious inclinations by entering an Anglican sisterhood at All Saints' Home in 1874, after her brother William's marriage freed her from domestic responsibilities. Up until that time she had also occupied herself in teaching Italian and in religious educational work. Her commentary on Dante, A Shadow of Dante, was published in 1871.

Their older brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) achieved fame as both a painter and a poet. He studied drawing at King's College, London, and painting at the Royal Academy. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite School of Painting and enjoyed the patronage of John Ruskin, the Pre-Raphaelites' champion in the press. His poetic gift is reflected both in his translations of Italian poetry, published in 1861, and in his original poems, published in volumes which appeared in 1870 and in 1881.

The fourth Rossetti sibling, William Michael Rossetti (1829-1919), served in the Excise Office, later the Inland Revenue Board, from 1845 until his retirement in 1894. As well as being an active reviewer and art critic, he edited the poetic works of his brother Dante Gabriel and his sister Christina.

The Rossetti and Heimann families met because the Rossetti's father Gabriele was professor of Italian at King's College, London, an appointment he held starting in 1831, and Adolf Heimann was professor of German at University College. Their acquaintance began when the families agreed to exchange Italian lessons for German lessons. It grew into a friendship which lasted through the century.