London and Cambridge Macmillan and Co. 1862, 16 Bedford Street

London and Cambridge Macmillan and Co. 1862 was located at 16 Bedford Street, London. This was the publishing company that published Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti. Christina Rossetti’s, “Goblin Market” was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood because her brother was a founding member and she would often pose for their art, as well as she would visit their exhibits and their meetings would be held at their family home. This is significant because she brought the Pre-Raphaelite influence into her writing, as well as her art, to be able to bring agency to women. In the poem, she was interested in showing the intimate bond between sisters. By doing this she portrayed women in a way that was not society acceptable at the time, as having agency with their words, actions and relationships. 

Source: “Macmillan and Co.” The British Museum

Parent Map

Victorian Illustrated Books Map

Coordinates

Latitude: 51.510698300000
Longitude: -0.124591600000

Timeline of Events Associated with London and Cambridge Macmillan and Co. 1862, 16 Bedford Street

Date Event Manage
1848

The Formation of The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was formed in 1848. They were a group of British artists that wanted to rebel against the conventional Victorian way of writing and creating art. The group consisted of seven members, one of which was Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The Brotherhood developed a controversial style that highlighted the reader’s relationship to the text and images, as they often created art that was mysterious and needed to be thought through to understand. They relied heavily on symbolism and the depiction of religious figures and themes. They also created detailed and realistic images of women that showed them off as sexual beings. This is significant because it was through this Pre-Raphaelite style that women were brought to the forefront. Women were being viewed as sexual beings capable of lusts and passions. This was a new revelation for many people as images such as the ones created by Dante Rossetti in “The Goblin Market,” would have been taboo and frowned upon prior to the Pre-Raphaelite Movement and its later popularization. Christina Rossetti could not be part of the Brotherhood because she was female, but she often modeled for the artists and would visit their exhibits, therefore alluding to the Pre-Raphaelite style also evident in her work. 

Source: “Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood,” Britannaica 

Source: Christina Rossetti and Illustration : A Publishing History, by Lorraine Janzen Kooistra

 Image by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, for Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market and Other Poems