This study builds upon the radical reinterpretations of Christina Rossetti that have emerged in the last two decades. Using contemporary critical and feminist theory Kathryn Burlinson shows how Rossetti was a persistent critic of her culture and how she struggled throughout her life and writings with the gender ideologies of Victorian England. The imaginative range and depth of Rossetti's work, her fantasy, her fun, mystery and melancholy as well as her startling explorations of feminine identity are emphasised through rhymes, devotional writings, letters and short stories. Rossetti's familial and literary relations are also explored, showing how the Rossetti household was both inspirational and conditioning, supportive and restrictive for its youngest daughter, who nevertheless forged her own way and found her own voices: sensuous, anguished and always yearning for a better place to be.

About the Author
Kathryn Burlinson was lecturer in English at the University of Southampton, 1989-1997. She has lectured and written widely on nineteenth-century women writers including the section for The Bloomsbury Guide to Women's Literature (1992). She now works as one of The Weird Sisters, an international touring theatre company.


Book Information
ISBN 9780746308462
Author Kathryn Burlinson
Format Paperback
Page Count 128
Imprint Liverpool University Press
Publisher Liverpool University Press
Weight(grams) 180g