Gérard de Nerval

Born in Paris in 1808 as Gérard Labrunie, he wrote under the name Gérard de Nerval and became known as a poet, prose writer, journalist, and translator. Early in his career, he gained attention for bringing major German writers, especially Goethe, to French readers through translation.

He was closely connected with the Romantic movement in France, but his writing often moved beyond it. Works such as Sylvie, Les Filles du feu, and Aurélia are remembered for their unusual mix of autobiography, dream, folklore, travel, and spiritual searching.

His life was marked by periods of severe mental distress, and his final years gave rise to some of his most powerful writing. He died in Paris in 1855, but his imaginative, intensely personal style went on to influence later writers associated with Symbolism and Surrealism.