This volume of Rilke's letters covers the years from the completion of The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge to Rilke's death in December 1926, nearly five years after he had written the Duino Elegies and the Sonnets to Orpheus , his last major works. There are important letters here to Muzot, Lou Andreas-Salome, to Princess Marie of Thurn and Taxis Hohenlohe, and many others. The most significant of the Wartime Letters: 1914-1921 are also included. An Introduction briefly traces the development of Rilke's work during these years; the Notes provide the necessary framework of biographical details and point up significant references to the poetry. Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926), the author of Sonnets to Orpheus , Duino Elegies , and Letters to a Young Poet , was one of the greatest poets of the German language. M.D.H. Norton (1894–1985) was cofounder of W. W. Norton & Company, now the oldest and largest publisher owned wholly by its employees.