The purpose of this article is to indicate the character and approximately the scope of Rossetti's reading, and to examine the opinions he expressed on the books he read. Many volumes must, of course, have passed through his hands of which he left no record, but enough allusions remain (and I omit mention of a few relating to unimportant works of the nineteenth century) to enable us to reconstruct the literary interests of Rossetti and define his tendencies as a critic.
Material for the study is drawn in part from Rossetti's works, though he wrote few formal criticisms. Comments on his reading occur also in various biographies of the poet, particularly in that by his brother, William Michael Rossetti. Finally, the greatest source of our knowledge is his own letters. A large number of these have been preserved in volumes edited under different titles by his brother, but there are many others in various memoirs, especially in Hall Caine's Recollections of Rossetti.