Books by William Michael Rossetti

La Vita Nuova - in English The New Life - is a poem by Dante Alighieri which expresses the virtues of Medieval courtship and love.First published in 1295 during the dawn of the Italian Renaissance period, this work discusses the praiseworthy aspects of courtship which first appeared during the Medieval era. Dante was a great admirer of this practice, feeling that the tradition elevated both love and courteous behaviour in a manner befitting an experience of such emotive depth. Dante first authored this book during his own association with Beatrice Portinari, a paramour who was to symbolise human love for the artist in both life and death. La Vita Nuova is distinct from other, later works by Dante in that it was authored in his native Italian, rather than the Latin he employed in The Divine Comedy and other works.

In this two-volume memoir of 1906, William Michael Rossetti (1829-1919) provides an unparalleled glimpse into the dynamics of the Rossetti family, dealing with his own childhood and that of his siblings, the genesis of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and friendships with many outstanding cultural figures of the Victorian age.