majority of the poems included in Les Illuminations were written in 1873, the happiest year of Rimbaud's and Verlaine's relationship. When his relationship with Verlaine ended, Rimbaud went to live with Germain Nouveau in London in 1874, revising old poems and writing new ones later included in Les Illuminations. Rimbaud's relationship with Nouveau remains mysterious because of the lack of information about their life together. Although little is known about this year in his life, it is certain that in February 1875 Rimbaud had given the manuscript sub-titled Les Illuminations to Verlaine. Publication and critical response Two versions of Illuminations were published in 1886, each version arranging texts in orders that differ from the other edition. Earning his living as a trader in the Horn of Africa at this time, Rimbaud was never personally involved in the publication of either edition. He did not leave Africa until 1891 when he was sick to the point of death. Publication history On Verlaine's release from prison in February 1875, Rimbaud entrusted him with the manuscript known today as Illuminations with the mission to mail it to Germain Nouveau in Brussels. Intent on an extended tour of Europe, Rimbaud had asked Nouveau to secure a Belgian publisher in his absence. Soon after sending the manuscript to Nouveau, however, Verlaine was seized with remorse: Why had he not searched for a publisher himself? At Verlaine's request, Nouveau returned the manuscript two years later at a meeting in London in 1877. With a view to publishing the complete works, Verlaine inserted into the original manuscript poems written in 1872 along with texts Rimbaud had given to Nouveau. Several months later, Verlaine loaned the manuscripts to the composer Charles de Sivry (the half-brother of Verlaine's estranged wife, Mathilde Mauté) with the aim of their being set to music. Learning that her half-brother was in possession of Rimbaud's texts, Mathilde expressly forbade de Sivry to return the manuscripts to Verlaine or to anyone else likely to publish them. It was not until nine years later, in 1886, after Mathilde had divorced Verlaine and remarried, that she rescinded her publication ban. Still seeking revenge over the destruction of her marriage by Rimbaud, Mathilde prohibited Verlaine from ever regaining possession of his former lover's manuscripts. De Sivry confided Rimbaud's texts to Louis Cardonel with the proviso that Verlaine was not to be involved in their publication. Cardonel approached Gustave