Learning Not to Be First: The Life of Christina Rossetti

An outstanding poet of the 19th century, Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) was the youngest of four children born to Italian parents who settled in England. In this carefully researched and well-crafted biography, Rossetti emerges as a Victorian woman whose rigid notions of propriety and commitment to the Anglican church prevented her from marrying either of the two men she loved. A sister of painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the leader of the pre-Raphaelite group of artists, a bit obvious/oh, I don't know; people might have liked being reminded that Millais and Hunt were part of the gang.gs , Christina was early on exposed to art and literature circles. Quoting liberally from her haunting lyric narratives, British author Jones ( A Glorious Fame ) shows us a woman who lived a constrained and lonely life of self-denial, expressing her anger and passion only in her poetry, which became increasingly devoted to religious themes. This comprehensive biography will interest general readers and scholars alike. Illustrations. (May)