Dominique Lapierre, creator of City of Joy, dies at 91

Born on July 30, 1931, in Chatelaillon, Lapierre had offered about 50 million copies of the six books he wrote in collaboration with the American author Larry Collins — essentially the most well-known being “Is Paris Burning?”

Paris,UPDATED: Dec 5, 2022 08:58 IST

French creator Dominique Lapierre attends the dedication ceremony of a faculty in a village of Lakshmikantapur, some 40 kms south of Kolkata, 28 February 2007. (AFP picture)

By Agence France-Presse: Dominique Lapierre, a French creator with a ardour for India and whose novels offered tens of hundreds of thousands of copies, has died, his spouse introduced.

“At 91, he died of old age,” Dominique Conchon-Lapierre instructed the French newspaper Var-Matin on Sunday.

She added that she is “at peace and serene since Dominique is no longer suffering”.

Born on July 30, 1931 in Chatelaillon, Lapierre has offered about 50 million copies of the six books he wrote in collaboration with the American author Larry Collins — essentially the most well-known being “Is Paris Burning?”

The non-fiction guide printed in 1965 chronicled the occasions main as much as August 1944, when Nazi Germany surrendered management of the French capital, and was tailored for the silver display screen by Francis Ford Coppola and Gore Vidal.

His 1985 novel “City of Joy” — concerning the hardships of a rickshaw puller in Kolkata — was additionally a large success. A film based mostly on it was launched in 1992, starring Patrick Swayze and directed by Roland Joffe.

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Lapierre donated the majority of his royalties from “City of Joy” to help humanitarian initiatives in India.

In 2005, he stated that thanks partly to this transfer, in addition to donations from readers, it grew to become “possible to cure a million tuberculosis patients in 24 years (and) to care for 9,000 children with leprosy”.

After “Is Paris Burning?”, he continued his fruitful partnership with Collins.

The duo authored “Or I’ll Dress You in Mourning” (1968), “O Jerusalem” (1972), “Freedom at Midnight” (1975), “The Fifth Horseman” (1980), and the thriller “Is New York Burning?”

For a very long time, Lapierre lived close to Collins in Saint-Tropez, their residences separated by a tennis courtroom.

Published On:

Dec 5, 2022