Nerval, Gérard de (Gérard Labrunie), * 22 May 1808 (Paris), † 26 Jan 1855 (Paris)

French poet and writer. He participated in the “battle of Hernani” (1830), associated with “Les Jeunes-France”, and was taken with an invincible passion for the actress Jenny Colon (1808-1842). Suffering a complete mental breakdown in 1841, he traveled to the Middle East (1843) and upon his return survived for ten years on minor jobs in publishing and journalism. He had another breakdown in 1853 and never fully recovered; he was hospitaliz…