Editing Gérard de Nerval (section)

===Work with Dumas===

In January 1834, Nerval's maternal grandfather died and he inherited around 30,000 francs. That autumn, he headed to southern France and then travelled to Florence, Rome and Naples. On his return in 1835, he moved in with a group of Romantic artists (including {{ill|Camille Rogier|fr}}). In May of that year, he created ''Le Monde Dramatique,'' a luxurious literary journal on which he squandered his inheritance. Debt-ridden, he finally sold it in 1836. Getting his start in journalism, he travelled to Belgium with Gautier from July to September.

In 1837, ''Piquillo'' was shown at the Opéra-Comique. Despite Nerval's work on the project, Dumas' was the only name on the libretto. {{ill|Jenny Colon|fr}} played the main role. Nerval may have fallen in love with the actress. Some specialists claim that his unrequited love for her is what inspired many of the female figures that appear in his writing, including the Virgin Mary, Isis, the queen of Saba. Other experts disagree with this biographical analysis.<ref>For example, see Christine Bomboir, ''Les Lettres d'amour de Nerval : mythe ou réalité ?'', {{p.|93–94}}.</ref>

Despite Dumas' refusal to let him take credit for his work, Nerval continued to collaborate with Dumas on plays. In the summer of 1838, he travelled with Dumas to Germany to work on ''Léo Burckart,'' which eventually premiered at the [[Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin]] on 16 April 1839, six days after the premiere of another play the pair worked on together called ''L'Alchimiste.'' In November 1839, Nerval travelled to Vienna, where he met the pianist [[Marie Pleyel]] at the French embassy.