Christina Georgina Rossetti was sister to the pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti. She was the niece of of Lord Byron's personal physician, John Polidori. Her father, Gabriele Rossetti, was a poet who had came to England for political asylum from Naples, Italy.

Christina was born in London and educated by her mother. As a teenager, she suffered from bouts of depression and illness. Her brother Dante Gabriel was very supportive of Christina's creativity, illustrating the book covers of her poetry and also drawing numerous portraits of her. She began writing at an early age but her first work was was not published until she was 31. The collection was entitled Goblin Market and Other Poems. Her poetry attracted great praise and she was soon compared to Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Christina died in 1894, one year after being diagnosed with cancer and was buried in Highgate Cemetery, a Victorian resting place known for its many gothic tombs.