Celia Moss was born in Portsea to Joseph and Amelia Moss in 1819. She was one of twelve siblings. When Celia and her sister Marion (born 1821) were children, their father would often read
romantic poetry to them while they sewed. In 1838, the teenaged sisters published a volume of poems dedicated to
Sir George Staunton. The style and form of the poems range from short lyrics to lengthier historical and dramatic pieces, and demonstrate an extensive knowledge of history and literature. Some of the poems, such as "The Massacre of the Jews at York," have explicitly Jewish themes, while others, such as "The Battle of Bannockburn," do not. The girls were influenced by the romantic poets, traditional Jewish texts, and Victorian women writers such as
Felicia Hemans and
"L.E.L." (Letitia Elizabeth Landon). In 1840, while working as teachers in London, the sisters jointly published
The Romance of Jewish History. The book was dedicated to Sir
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, and published by subscription; Bulwer-Lytton and
Lord Palmerston were among the subscribers. Three years later they published
Tales of Jewish History. They also published poems and short stories, and a short-lived periodical,
The Sabbath Journal. Celia Moss married Lewis Levetus of Birmingham and stopped writing for a time. Towards the end of her life she published one last book, ''The King's Physician, and Other Tales.'' She died after a long illness in Birmingham in 1873. == Works ==