How to Begin
De Waal's latest book, How to Begin, is a moving, intergenerational story about the traces of memory within a family and a deeply personal reflection on how we learn resilience with the support of others. Publishing on 5 November 2026 by Chatto & Windus, this book is for any reader, starting out, seeking permission to begin.
How to Begin was inspired by the startling rediscovery in de Waal’s family archives of letters between his grandmother Elisabeth Ephrussi and the charismatic German-language poet, Rainer Maria Rilke.
Edmund de Waal's grandmother, Elisabeth, aspires to be a poet. She is a young woman studying for a law degree in 1920s Vienna when she enters a dramatic correspondence with one of the totemic writers of the age, Rainer Maria Rilke. She is young, ambitious, uncertain; he is greatly revered. She dares to share her work, and he gives her encouragement and advice. They exchange letters, alongside books, translations and poems in manuscript, for five years until Rilke’s death. They plan to meet but misfortune strikes and they just miss each other.
Decades later when her grandson starts to write, it is Elisabeth’s turn to act as mentor, to take this young man seriously and to send him letters of encouragement. And most importantly, to introduce him to the poetry of Rilke.
How to Begin follows Edmund’s creative journey, from apprentice potter, familiar with failure, to a successful life as an artist. This is an intergenerational story, written with tenderness and wisdom. The book includes the Ephrussi and Rilke correspondence, beautifully translated by the outstanding German scholar, Karen Leeder.
Publishing on 5 November 2026, with 30 full-colour illustrations, How to Begin coincides with the centenary of Rilke’s death on 29 December 2026.