Frances Mary Lavinia Polidori, later Rossetti, (April 27, 1800 – 8 April 1886) is noted for her family connections rather than in her own right; in particular, two of her children were co-founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and another became a famous poet.
Frances was the daughter of Italian exile Gaetano Polidori and sister of John Polidori, author of The Vampyre and Lord Byron's physician. Although she was strictly Anglican herself, sh...
more
Frances Mary Lavinia Polidori, later Rossetti, (April 27, 1800 – 8 April 1886) is noted for her family connections rather than in her own right; in particular, two of her children were co-founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and another became a famous poet.
Frances was the daughter of Italian exile Gaetano Polidori and sister of John Polidori, author of The Vampyre and Lord Byron's physician. Although she was strictly Anglican herself, she married the Roman Catholic Italian exile Gabriele Rossetti in London. After Gabriele died she quickly burned the remaining copies of his book Il Mistero dell' Amor Platonico del Medio Evo.
Her oldest child, Maria, wrote a book about Dante Alighieri and later became an Anglican nun.
Her two sons, Gabriel Charles Dante (later known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti) and William Michael were among the co-founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. William Michael edited the diary of his uncle John Polidori. Frances sat to Gabriel for some of his early...
less
