-- By Christina Rossetti --
While most known for Christmas carols In the Bleak Midwinter and Love Came Down at Christmas, Christina Rossetti was quite a prolific 19th century English poet. In the Bleak Midwinter was written in 1871 but was only arranged by composer Gustav Holst 35 years later in 1906.
Rossetti was born in London on December 5, 1830. She was first published in April 1850 at 19 years of age with her literary periodical The Germ. Her most extensive work, Goblin Market and Other Poems, was published in 1862. Rosetti suffered from Graves' disease late in life and developed breast cancer in 1893 before succumbing to breast cancer on December 29, 1894. She was laid to rest on New Years Day 1895 at Highgate Cemetery in North London where her grave can still be visited.
