City of Immortals: Pre-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris

(Paperback)

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This first account of a legendary necropolis will delight Francophiles, tourists and armchair travellers, while enriching the experience of taphophiles (cemetery lovers) and aficionados of art and architecture, mystery and romance. Carolyn Campbell's text and evocative images are complemented by those of renowned landscape photographer Joe Cornish. City of Immortals celebrates the novelty and eccentricity of Pere-Lachaise Cemetery against a backdrop of the engrossing story of the history of the site established by Napoleonic decree along with portraits of the last moments of the cultural icons buried within its walls. In addition to several 'imagined conversations' with some of the high-profile residents, three guided tours are provided along with an illustrated pull-out map featuring the grave sites of eighty-four architects, artists, writers, musicians, dancers, filmmakers and actors, including Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison of the Doors. Frederic Chopin, Georges Bizet, Edith Piaf, Maria Callas, Isadora Duncan, Eugene Delacroix, Gertrude Stein, Amedeo Modigliani, Sarah Bernhardt, Simone Signoret, Colette and Marcel Proust. AUTHOR: Carolyn Campbell was born in Washington, DC, has lived in Paris, and is now a resident of Los Angeles. A summa cum laude graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art, she has been working as an arts and communications specialist for over 40 years. She has held executive positions with the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the American Film Institute, and the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, where she was editor of the UCLA Arts Magazine for 14 years. She is also a published writer and an exhibited photographer. Her fascination with Pere-Lachaise was kindled on a first visit to Paris in the early 1980s. With the support and encouragement of her mentor, John Russell - the late New York Times art critic - she embarked on her research and photo documentation of the cemetery. SELLING POINTS: Pere-Lachaise is the fourth most popular destination in Paris, with 65 million annual visitors This is the first all-inclusive look at the history of the cemetery from its grand opening in 1804 to the present, with a special focus on the famous artists, writers, actors, filmmakers and musicians who are buried there. It thoroughly documents and illustrates the work of leading architects and sculptors commissioned to design the tombs in Pere -Lachaise, which create an outdoor museum of 19th-century art and architecture A witty, informative and fascinating guide to a major tourist site in Paris, it features 100 evocative colour images along with historical lithographs of the cemetery dating from the early 19th century, and contains new, unpublished material and a comprehensive illustrated map There are more celebrities buried at this cemetery than in any location in the world, including, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison of The Doors, Marcel Proust, Frederic Chopin, Amedeo Modigliani, Gertrude Stein and many more 100 colour, 100 b/w images

Reviews

"In City of Immortals, Carolyn Campbell gives readers three books in one; a personal dialogue with the immortals, a scholarly history of funerary architecture and design, and an intimate tour of the world's most famous cemetery." "City of Immortals is not only beautiful but helpful. Pere-Lachaise is the final resting place of Sarah Bernhardt, Frederic Chopin, Eugene Delacroix, Edith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Gertrude Stein, Isadora Duncan, Oscar Wilde and, somehow most famously, Jim Morrison. It's a great place to visit--but a tough place to find your way around. Though, as Campbell is quick to point out, 'Sometimes getting lost can be as rewarding as arriving at your intended destination.'" "The artist's voluminous work is a gorgeous collection of words and images that captures the awe of the place, its legacy, its grace, its sense of peace and mystery." "It is indispensable for anyone who wants to truly get their mind around this amazing maze of art and death. Thankfully, a passionate American has set her laser focus on these 107-acres of corpses and copses."

Author Bio

Carolyn Campbell was born in Washington, DC, has lived in Paris, and is now a resident of Los Angeles. A summa cum laude graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art, she has been working as an arts and communications specialist for over 40 years. She has held executive positions with the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the American Film Institute, and the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, where she was editor of the UCLA Arts Magazine for 14 years. She is also a published writer and an exhibited photographer. Her fascination with Pere-Lachaise was kindled on a first visit to Paris in the early 1980s. With the support and encouragement of her mentor, John Russell - the late New York Times art critic - she embarked on her research and photo documentation of the cemetery. Joe Cornish studied fine art at Reading University and then assisted photographer Mike Mitchell in Washington, D.C. before basing himself in the UK. Since his first photographic explorations in Pere-Lachaise with Carolyn Campbell in 1982 he has contributed to numerous travel books as well as writing his own on landscape photography.