The author, a professor of musicology at Notre Dame University, examines the lives, times, and oeuvre of four poets whose verses were set by Schubert: Theodor Koener, Ernst Schulze, Johann Mayhofer and Gabriele von Bamberg. The book, while somewhat esoteric for the general reader, offers valuable insights into the poets' styles and the events that shaped their lives and their work. If you have a strong interest in Schubert and his time, you will find this a very useful volume indeed.