christina rossetti was born in charlotte street (now 105 hallam street), london, to gabriele rossetti, a poet and a political exile from vasto, abruzzo, since 1824 and frances polidori, the sister of lord byron's friend and physician, john william polidori. she had two brothers and a sister: dante gabriel became an influential artist and poet, and william michael and maria both became writers. christina, the youngest, was a lively child. she dictated her first story to her mother before she had learned to write.