Goblin Market: A Tale of Two Sisters (1997)
Woman holding a fruit.

Description: 

The author of this text is Christina Rossetti. There are no other authors, editors, or adapters for this edition of the text. However, there is a foreword written by  Joyce Carol Oates, a renowned American writer known for her various novels, short stories, and poems. This book was published by Chronicle Books, a publishing company located in San Francisco, California in 1997. This is a reprint published by the company mentioned previously, who is known for publishing children’s literature, which was very likely the original market or audience of the text. The text is marketed towards adults with an interest in either Rossetti’s works or pre-Raphaelite art, although it does not exclude children. This can be seen through the beautiful glossy pages and the variety of coloured illustrations by pre-Raphaelite artists, two of whom (Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Laurence Houseman) were the only artists to illustrate ‘Goblin Market’ within Rossetti’s lifetime. The audience is further determined through the subtitle: ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ which insinuates content that is innocuous which juxtaposes the pornographic adult market for this text. 

The artists whose illustrations are included within this text are Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris, and Laurence Houseman. The illustrations are scattered throughout the text. There are a variety of coloured illustrations in different mediums. The text includes pre-Raphaelite paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, block-print decoration by William Morris, and wood-engraving illustrations by Laurence Houseman.

Source: PDF of the text provided by Ryerson Special Collection; “‘Modern Markets for ‘Goblin Market’”, Lorraine Janzen Kooistra.

Associated Place(s)

Artist: 

  • Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Image Date: 

1997