Thank you to D. Bennison at Bennison Books
for this beautiful review of
The Dove Upon Her Branch, A Novel Portrait of Christina Rossetti
This novelised account of the life of the English poet Christina Rossetti takes the reader deep into the heart of the fascinating and remarkably gifted Rossetti family. We also encounter the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, co-founded by Christina’s mercurial brother, Dante Gabriel, as flawed as he is gifted. Over the course of this meticulously researched novel, we also meet Christina’s steady, slightly older brother, William Michael, and her clever and faithful sister, Maria, whose character and personality shines out from these pages.
The lively depictions of Christina’s family and friends are one of the huge pleasures of reading this book as we follow her life from childhood into young womanhood, middle age and death at 64. A complex character, we share Christina’s powerful and fluctuating emotions as she struggles with the idea of marriage; Dante Gabriel’s relationships with other women; her ambivalence towards the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; and doubts about the worth of her own poetry.
The undertow of sadness and tragedy is always present, from Dante’s self-destructive behaviour and her beloved sister’s death to her father’s long-term incapacity and her own life-threatening ill-health.
A huge bonus is the author’s stunning artwork, to be found on the front cover and within the pages of this absorbing, insightful and enlightening work.
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