City of Immortals - by Carolyn Campbell (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This first-person account of a legendary necropolis will delight Francophiles, tourists and armchair travelers, while enriching the experience of taphophiles (cemetery lovers) and aficionados of art and architecture, mystery and romance. Carolyn Campbell's evocative images are complemented by those of renowned landscape photographer Joe Cornish. "City of Immortals" celebrates the novelty and eccentricity of Père-Lachaise Cemetery through 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 "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. Frédéric Chopin, Georges Bizet, Edith Piaf, Maria Callas, Isadora Duncan, Eugène Delacroix, Gertrude Stein, Amedeo Modigliani, Sarah Bernhardt, Simone Signoret, Colette and Marcel Proust.

Review Quotes

"Arguably the most famous resting place in the world, Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris is also a vital tourist attraction, receiving some 3.5 million visitors each year. Carolyn Campbell's book City of Immortals explores the 107-acre labyrinth from its architectural and sculptural treasures to the graves of 84 cultural icons." --Frommer's

"That frustration turned into a three-decade project in which Campbell revisited and studied the cemetery, eventually creating an app for Francophiles. Now she and British landscape photographer Joe Cornish have a new book of 100 photographs, "City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery," with an illustrated pullout map of 84 noteworthy grave sites." --Los Angeles Times

"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." --Genie Davis, art critic, Art and Cake magazine

"City of Immortals is not only beautiful but helpful. Père-Lachaise is the final resting place of Sarah Bernhardt, Frédéric Chopin, Eugène 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.'" --Shana Nys Dambrot, arts editor, L.A. Weekly

"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." --Laurie Pike, editor, The Paris Blog

"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."