Published in the centenary-year of Rossetti's death in 1894, this biography recovers her sense of artistic vision as sister to the pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, mapping her desire for a brilliant career in an age that frowned on ambition in women, and showing that the author of Goblin Market was no pious and melancholy recluse, but a poet with a proper sense of vocation. Marsh also explores Rossetti's work with young prostitutes and the later development of a female ministry in her religious writing. Interwoven with the literary account is the personal story of Christina Rossetti within her Italian family. Uncovering sexual trauma in adolescence, Marsh attempts to make sense of Rossetti's recurrent depressions, fear and self-loathing. Drawing on unread works and newly available letters, a picture emerges of this Victorian poet, whose writing was in part self-healing as she overcame emotional injury through creative imagination.