Conrad Ferdinand Meyer

Diagnoses

Vocation

Swiss writer noted for his historical tales and his poetry. After completing his schooling, Meyer began to study law but suffered from depression, which compelled him to enter a mental home for a time. A long stay in French Switzerland, largely in Lausanne, gave him a thorough knowledge of French literature and culture; he also took up history, studying abroad in Paris and Italy. Rome, and especially the work of Michelangelo, was one of the decisive experiences in his life; Michelangelo’s monumental style became an ideal that he attempted to realize in his own poetry. He passed the rest of his life in Zürich or nearby, where, with no settled profession and of independent means, he was able to devote himself to his writing. From 1877 he had a country house at Kilchberg, near Zürich. In 1892 depression once again forced him into a mental home for a year, and afterward he did no more creative work. Meyer began to write rather late, and his total output was relatively slender. He died 28 November 1898. Link to Wikipedia biography