NERVAL (de), Gérard (1808-1855)

NERVAL (de), Gérard (1808-1855)

Autograph letter signed « Gérard de Nerval » to Daniel Giraud
[Passy], « this 25 October » [1853], 1 p. in-8°
Autograph address: “Monsieur / Monsieur Giraud / Publisher / rue Vivienne at the Coq d’or.”
Small angular loss due to seal breakage (no text loss), light foxing, two pinholes – Numerous ink smudges indicating that Nerval folded the letter while the ink was still wet.

Interned at Dr. Blanche’s clinic, the poet sends his editorial demands to his publisher for Les Filles du Feu

A remarkable letter providing crucial insights into the creation of Nerval’s legendary collection

From the Paul Beauvais collection

« Mon cher Giraud,
Voilà pour le livre [Les Filles du Feu] – Angélique de Longueval. Ensuite je crois que vous avez Jemmy. Écrivez-moi si v[ou]s ne l’avez pas. J’ai à peu près le reste, aussi pressez. Je garde quelque chose à remanier dans Angélique.
Le tout comme Lorely, faites composer de même Sylvie quoiqu’elle ne doive pas être dans le volume, nous nous entendrons après.
On n’est pas venu me chercher l’autre jour mais je sors jeudi [On October 27th, which is a day outing, not a permanent departure].
Votre dévoué.
Gérard de Nerval »

Genesis and Publication of Les Filles du Feu
Nerval was admitted to Dr. Blanche’s clinic following another bout of madness at the end of September 1853. It was in the fevered autumn of that same year that the poet composed Les Filles du Feu there. The collection begins with a dedication to Alexandre Dumas, in response to the betrayal of the latter, who had published El Desdichado in Le Mousquetaire on December 10, 1853, without Nerval’s permission.
Gathering together previously published texts, the collection includes eight short stories (Angélique, Sylvie, Chansons et légendes du Valois, Jemmy, Octavie, Isis, Corilla, Emilie) and a set of twelve sonnets (Les Chimères). Claude Pichois notes that “given Gérard’s condition, the publication is nothing short of a miracle.”
Les Filles du Feu was finally published in January 1854, after Nerval renegotiated a contract with the publisher Giraud.

We include:
Sylvie – Souvenirs du Valois. Paris, Revue des deux Mondes, July 1, 1853.
Pre-original edition. 8vo (217 x 142 mm). Modern half-black calf binding with titled spine, marbled paper boards, untrimmed edges. Light foxing.
This is the first appearance of one of the stories from Les Filles du Feu, published in Revue des deux Mondes (New Series, Volume III, 23rd year), prior to the publication of the volume by Giraud and Dagneau the following year. By his own admission, Nerval considered this text to be the best of his short stories ((Aurélia [Seconde partie] Pléiade, t. III, p. 735).