Christina Rossetti (1830 - 1894) was born in England to a family of great literary and artistic talent. A beauty who frequently modeled for her brother Dante and other respected artists of her day, Christina began writing as a child and published her first poem at eighteen. A kind-hearted woman who spent many years as a charity volunteer, Christina’s devout faith was often a central theme in the three books of poetry and four books of devotions she wrote during her life. Though her poems show up consistently in contemporary films, television shows, and musical compositions, her most familiar work is “In the Bleak Midwinter,” which, when set to music, became a beloved Christmas carol.