Meyer, Conrad Ferdinand (1825-1898)

Swiss poet and novelist, born in Zürich. He was bilingual, and only decided to write in German after the war of 1870. His first work was the verse collection Zwanzig Balladen von einem Schweizer 1864, followed in 1871 by Romanzen und Bilder. His prose shows the same desire for absolute perfection; the two best-known novels, Jürg Jenatsch 1876 and Der Heilige 1880, are full of life and action, blended with the cool observation of the realist.

His historical stories, such as Das Amulett 1873, Die Hochzeit des Monchs 1884, and Die Richterin 1885, reveal the same creative power.