Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was a prominent English poet known for her romantic, devotional, and children's poetry. Born in London to Gabriele Rossetti, an Italian poet and political exile, and Frances Polidori, she was the youngest of four siblings, including the famous artist and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Educated at home, Christina was influenced by religious works, classics, and the writings of Keats and Italian poets like Dante Alighieri and Petrarch.

Rossetti's early life was marked by financial difficulties due to her father's ill health, leading her mother to teach and her sister Maria to work as a governess. Christina herself suffered a nervous breakdown at 14, which led to bouts of depression throughout her life. Despite these challenges, she became deeply involved in the Anglo-Catholic movement within the Church of England, which profoundly influenced her work.

Her literary career began with contributions to the Pre-Raphaelite journal The Germ under the pseudonym Ellen Alleyne. Her first major publication, "Goblin Market and Other Poems" (1862), established her reputation, followed by "The Prince’s Progress and Other Poems" (1866). Her work was characterized by its lyrical beauty and religious themes, and she was considered a leading poet of her time, often compared to Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Christina Rossetti's personal life was marked by her strong religious convictions, which led her to break off engagements with James Collinson and Charles Bagot Cayley due to religious differences. She faced health challenges, including Graves' disease and later cancer, but continued to write, focusing on devotional prose in her later years. Her poetry, celebrated for its emotional depth and lyrical quality, remains influential, with works like "In the Bleak Midwinter" and "Love Came Down at Christmas" becoming well-known hymns. Despite her struggles, Rossetti's legacy as one of the Victorian era's finest poets endures.