Press
Below is a collection of press coverage from various media about Carolyn Campbell’s best-selling debut book, City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris; as well as her GPS Tour App and printed Map of the cemetery.
NOTE TO MEMBERS OF THE PRESS: If you would like to receive a review copy of the book (print edition or PDF), a press copy of the GPS tour app, or wish to request an interview with Carolyn Campbell, please contact the author directly.
October 3, 2023
Lion’s Roar
Learning from the Dead
Article by Carolyn Campbell
When I think back to my grandfather dying when I was 11 years old, I don’t recall experiencing a sense of loss. I hadn’t known him very well, but what most left an impression on me about his death was the fascinating, yet scary nature of his burial. My grandfather was a lieutenant colonel in the Army. When he died, an elaborate military service was held in his honor at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. An assemblage of soldiers in uniforms adorned with ornate gold braid and carrying shimmering swords at their belts lifted his casket from the back of a hearse and gently placed it onto a shiny black wagon drawn by six gray horses. A military chaplain read the eulogy, after which a trio of soldiers stepped forward. They took the large flag from atop the casket, and in a series of amazing, synchronized movements, folded it into a neat triangular bundle. One of them handed the bundle to my grandfather’s widow.…
Read full article →
(website)
July 30, 2023
The Frommer’s Guide Travel Podcast
Episode #S1E505: The Wonders of Paris’ Père-Lachaise Cemetery
Interview by Pauline Frommer
In this podcast, Pauline Frommer interviews author/photographer Carolyn Campbell about her bestselling book, City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, as well as her GPS Tour app of the same name. Both can be purchased through her web site: cityofimmortals.com. To clarify a few facts mentioned in their conversation: Père-Lachaise Cemetery was named after Father Lachaise, the Jesuit confessor to the Sun King, Louis XIV. Sculptor Antoine Étex created artwork on the Arc de Triomphe.
ABOUT THE PODCAST
Since the 1957 publication of Arthur Frommer’s seminal Europe on $5 a Day, the Frommer guidebooks have been America’s most trusted travel source. This podcast, hosted by Arthur’s daughter and business partner, Pauline Frommer, gives listeners the lowdown on what’s happening in the world of travel today. Expect guest appearances by some of the biggest names in travel today, including Arthur Frommer, Jason Cochran, and travel journalists from the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other publications.
Listen to full interview →
(podcast)
November 1, 2022
French Television, Channel 3
Toussaint: Les plus belles tombes du Père-Lachaise
Interview with Channel 3 Producer Jonathan Trullard
On a morning walk through the cemetery, I ran into the TV crew at the tomb of Héloïse and Abelard, where we chatted about the monument to these ill-fated 12th-century lovers. When they learned that I was the author/photographer of a best-selling book on Père-Lachaise and had just launched the audio version of my GPS tour app in French, they asked, “Can we interview you?” Of course I responded, “Oui, monsieur, mais bien sûr!” And that is how it came to be, on the occasion of All Saints’ Day (la Toussaint) in Paris, that French TV Channel 3 interviewed author/photographer Carolyn Campbell for a news segment that ran that night and again the next morning on Channel 2. Below is a transcript excerpt from the segment.
Narrator:
“With over 3,500,000 visitors a year, the tombs in Père-Lachaise Cemetery attract art and architecture lovers from all over the world.”
Campbell:
“I live in Los Angeles, and I consider Père-Lachaise like an open-air museum of 19th-century sculpture and architecture.”
Narrator:
“This American has even created an application for finding the most beautiful tombs.”
Campbell:
“…the blue dot marks your location. If you walk along the orange line you’ll find the most amazing tombs.”
View the full segment →
(YouTube)
November 18, 2021
Diversions LA
Stories from Père Lachaise—
Carolyn Campbell’s Photographic Art Springs to Life
Event Review by Genie Davis
Ooh la la—photographic artist and author Carolyn Campbell’s bestselling book, City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, came to life at the Raymond Kabbaz Theatre in Los Angeles November 6th.
An immersive multi-disciplinary festival, the 6-hour event paid tribute to the many artists resting in the cemetery from Bizet to Jim Morrison.
The event included a photographic exhibition, film screening, artist talks, and book signing, as well as tasty baguettes and champagne.…
Read full review →
(website)
November 11, 2021
Downtown Los Angeles News
Author, Professor Unearth the Secrets of Parisian Cemetery
News Story by Bridgette M. Redman
In the Nov. 18 virtual episode of CalTech’s “Behind the Book,” viewers are invited to eavesdrop as author and photographer Carolyn Campbell and CalTech professor Jed Buchwald channel three Parisian scientists who are buried in Paris’ Père-Lachaise Cemetery.
The 5 p.m. episode is called “Conversations with the Scientists in Père-Lachaise Cemetery.”
Campbell has recently published City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, a book filled with photographs of the famous cemetery that reveals the history and “interviews” dead artists who are buried there.…
Read full story →
(website)
October 9, 2021
Arts Beat LA
“City of Immortals” Festival at TRK
News Story by Pauline Adamek
Stories from Père-Lachaise
The Theatre Raymond Kabbaz (TRK) proudly presents City of Immortals, a new festival celebrating the immortality of the arts inspired by the great artists buried in the historic Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Inspired by Carolyn Campbell’s bestselling book City of Immortals, the multi-disciplinary cultural and historical festival pays tribute to the great artists resting in Père-Lachaise Cemetery.
Living artists will interpret the works of great composers, poets, vocalists, dancers, and visual artists who long ago found fame with their artistic achievements, and whose art lives on today. Carolyn Campbell, an expert on Père Lachaise, will be on site and on stage for a presentation, a Q&A, and a book signing.…
Read full story →
(website)
WHEN:
Saturday, November 6, 2021
3:00 P.M. – 10:00 P.M.
WHERE:
Theatre Raymond Kabbaz
10361 W. Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(map)
August 2021
Goldmine Magazine
Jim Morrison in the City of Immortals
Excerpt from author Carolyn Campbell’s book
My first trip to France came about when a fellow staff member in a museum, who moonlighted as a travel agent, offered me a canceled ticket on a charter flight. All I had to pay was the tax. At a gallery opening that following week, an artist friend heard I was leaving for Paris and told me I had to go see an amazing cemetery, Père-Lachaise, filled with art and celebrities. Not a fan of graveyards, I asked, “Why?” He knew Oscar Wilde was a literary hero of mine and said his ancestor had sculpted the monument marking his burial place. I had my first destination. Thirty plus years later my passion for photographing and researching the place has never waned. Signing a publishing deal with Goff Books brought my dream to life.…
Read full excerpt →
(PDF)
June 24, 2021
Goldmine Magazine
The Jim Morrison Pilgrimage
Podcast interview with author Carolyn Campbell by Goldmine Magazine editor Patrick Prince
Many will honor The Doors vocalist Jim Morrison on the 50th anniversary of his death by visiting his gravesite at the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France. Here is an expert’s guide to the burial site.…
Listen to full podcast interview →
(Embedded Audio)
January 15, 2021
Los Angeles Review of Books
A Galaxy of Monuments
Book review by Jill Schary Robinson
In the beginning of her extraordinary book, City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, Carolyn Campbell tells us of her father’s urgent message as he was dying: “Carolyn, never put off your dreams.” “He never realized his own dreams,” she says, “of being a writer.” Carolyn, however, has realized this dream and, indeed, has given her father’s soul a place among the iconic artists in Père-Lachaise, the glorious cemetery in Paris, founded by Napoleon Bonaparte.
In our culture, death, in a sense the goal of life’s journey, is rarely given the dignity and grace it deserves. Carolyn was first introduced to this ultimate transition when she watched her grandfather’s casket carried by a horse-drawn caisson to his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery..…
Read full review →
(website)
November 12, 2020
Eye Prefer Paris Blog
City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris—
Interview with Author Carolyn Campbell
Interview by Richard Nahem
Today I am happy to publish an interview with Carolyn Campbell, author of the bestselling book City of Immortals: Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris. The informative and entertaining book captures the history, mystery, romance, and the factual elements of the beloved cemetery, along with sumptuous photos from Campbell and contributing photographer Joe Cornish.
The book highlights 84 of the most impressive luminaries buried in Père-Lachaise and in chapter 3, Conversations with the Immortals, Campbell has imaginary conversations with some of the more celebrated inhabitants of the cemetery including Jim Morrison, Colette, Oscar Wilde, Piaf, and Chopin.…
Read full interview →
(website)
October 27, 2020
Bonjour Paris
Author Carolyn Campbell on City of Immortals, Père-Lachaise Cemetery
Interview by Janet Hulstrand
Janet Hulstrand: What inspired you to create this book?
Carolyn Campbell: Back in 2018, I was having a cup of tea with L.A.-based architecture and design author Michael Webb, who was writing about the genesis of my illustrated map of the cemetery, and the beta model for my GPS tour app. He asked me, “Why don’t you create a book with all these great images and material?”
My focus from the very beginning has always been to share my knowledge with others. How that would exactly come about I left to the fates. I was just doing the work and not thinking about the results. It was Michael’s generous introduction to his publisher, Gordon Goff, that set things in motion. After a whirlwind month of emails and conversations, I was offered a publishing deal. Kismet. And here we are.…
Read full interview →
(PDF)
June 25, 2020
#55: Author/Photographer Carolyn Campbell
Podcast/Interview
by Michael Delgado
LA Times bestselling author Carolyn Campbell talks about her new book, City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris. Working for nearly 30 years to complete the book, Campbell’s exhaustive research has yielded fascinating information on the history of funerary architecture and the Napoleonic era as well as refreshing insights on the many luminaries buried there.…
Listen to podcast →
(website)
June 22, 2020
Arts Beat LA
City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris
Book Review by Pauline Adamek
Brimming with history, Père-Lachaise Cemetery is the final resting place of Paris’ rich and famous.
You don’t even need to budge from your armchair to take a trip there, thanks to Carolyn Campbell’s handsome book City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris. Campbell’s book celebrates the rich and beautiful history of the world’s most famous cemetery, taking readers on a tour of the acclaimed resting place for so many luminaries. There’s something dreamily romantic about wandering around a beautiful cemetery, and Paris’ iconic Père-Lachaise is one of the world’s most unforgettable.…
Read full review →
(website)
May 2020
Carolyn Campbell: 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
Travel/Travel Guide Finalist
https://www.indiebookawards.com/winners/list
The Next Generation Indie Book Awards announced that City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, published by Goff Books, is a finalist in the 2020 Travel category. The Next Generation Indie Book Awards are judged by leaders of the indie book publishing industry, including many with long careers at major publishing houses. Their love of a great read and experience in the publishing arena identify books deserving a wider audience.
In an article at CNN.com titled “If it’s cool, creative, and different, it’s indie,” journalist Catherine Andrews wrote: “The term ‘indie’ traditionally refers to independent art—music, film, literature or anything that fits under the broad banner of culture—created outside of the mainstream and without corporate financing.” That definition remains true for book publishing.
Independent book publishing companies are independent of the major conglomerates dominating the book publishing industry. Indies include small presses, larger independent publishers, university presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors.
According to Catherine Goulet, Founder Co-Chair of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, “Like other independent artists, many indie book publishers face challenges that the industry giants don’t experience. The indies have to work much harder to get their best books into readers’ hands.”
“Authors and publishers who compete in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards are serious about promoting their books,” adds Goulet. “They aim to stand out from the crowd of millions of books in print.”
Worldwide, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimates more than 2.6 million books are now being published in a single year.
May 14, 2020
Artillery Magazine
Shelter-in-place: Carolyn Campbell Explores the City of Immortals
Book Review by Genie Davis
Campbell’s book offers new reflections
on the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris
Both cemetery and museum, the often-explored Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris is a stunning open-air space filled with dazzling sculpture as well as architecture. At over 107 acres, this burial ground of highly celebrated artists, writers, and performers can also be exceedingly difficult to navigate.…
Read full review →
(website)
April 28, 2020
The Eye of Photography
Book Review
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.…
Read full review →
(PDF)
December 19, 2019
VoyageLA Magazine
Meet Carolyn Campbell
(Interview)
…I grew up surrounded by polymaths. My parents were voracious readers; social activists for everything from civil rights to animal welfare, and were life-long civil servants working for Federal agencies. Mom was also an equestrienne, pilot, award-winning writer, and gifted artist. Dad wrote as well, played the clarinet and taught dancing at one juncture. Both were avid techies long before the Internet and had CB radio-handles such as Mehitabel and The Flying Dutchman.…
Read full article →
(website)
December 2019
France Magazine
Five Minutes with Carolyn Campbell
Interview by Helen Parkinson
…History, artists, culture, architecture and design have been life-long interests of mine. The cemetery tapped into all thse passions.
After spending close to 80 days over the past few decades wandering around the monuments and delving into the lives of its famed residents, my love of this extraordinary place has deepened immeasurably. From my own observations, I’d say Édith Piaf is the most highly-visited grave by the French and Oscar Wilde by the British.
My research began the first day I visited, some 30-plus years ago.…
Read full article →
(PDF)
November 24, 2019
Lesa’s Book Critiques
City of Immortals by Carolyn Campbell
By Lesa Holstine
Most people don’t say they’re ready to go to Paris because of a cemetery. I didn’t feel as if I spent enough time at Montparnasse Cemetery when I was in Paris, so Carolyn Campbell’s book made me ready to go back. She has a unique view of Père-Lachaise Cemetery. In City of Immortals—Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, she and photographer Joe Cornish share the result of over thirty years of research about Paris’ most famous cemetery.
According to Campbell, the 107-acre Père-Lachaise Cemetery is the fourth most visited site in Paris, after the Arc de Triumphe, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower. Napoleon Bonaparte wanted a cemetery for the people, and in 1799 there was a competition to create new cemeteries outside the city center. The garden-style cemetery was the first of its kind in the world, although it became a model for others.…
Read full article →
(website)
November 23, 2019
Travel by ENTREE
Essential holiday books to give and get for 2019/2020
By WTOMICKI
…An engrossing first-person account of this legendary necropolis that will delight Francophiles, tourists and armchair travelers who will be enriched by the art and architecture, mystery and romance of the world’s most famous last resting place. Complemented by evocative images from photographer Joe Cornish.
Read full article →
(website)
November 17, 2019
Los Angeles Times — Books Section
November 2019 Bestsellers
City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris by Carolyn Campbell takes the #2 spot on the Los Angeles Times bestsellers list for paperback nonfiction!
See past and current rankings →
(website)
November 2019
American Cemetery & Cremation Magazine
A City of Immortals
By Patti Martin Bartsche
In City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, Carolyn Campbell presents a first-person account of her more than 30 years visiting, studying and documenting Père-Lachaise. Campbell’s images, complemented by those of renowned U.K.-based landscape photographer Joe Cornish, celebrate the novelty and eccentricity of the cemetery.
Released by Goff Books, the book focuses on the gravesites of 84 architects, artists, writers, musicians, dancers, filmmakers and actors. Campbell also includes several intimate “conversations” with some of the cemetery’s high-profile residents.
We recently had a chance to chat with Campbell about her love affair with Père-Lachaise, the cemetery’s “immortals” and the important role cemeteries play in society.…
Read full article →
(PDF)
October 29, 2019
WeHo Reads
City of Immortals Book Launch
Video excerpts from the presentation by author/photographer Carolyn Campbell at the launch of her debut book, City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, as part of the City of West Hollywood Arts Division “WeHo Reads” series. The talk/slide presentation included a reading of “Conversations” with Jim Morrison of The Doors and Édith Piaf (there are eight in the book); followed by a lively Q&A session with the audience. The record attendance resulted in Book Soup selling out their entire supply of copies that evening. The book was named #2 on the Los Angeles Times Bestsellers List; #1 Hot New Release on Amazon, and #1 Bestseller Non-Fiction Paperback with Book Soup and Vroman’s book stores.
October 27, 2019
Los Angeles Times — Sunday Arts & Books Section
In grave condition
By Liesl Bradner
In 1981 Carolyn Campbell, a publicist at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., took the advice of her mentor, art critic John Russell. Campbell jumped on a bargain flight to France to visit the renowned Père-Lachaise Cemetery to find Oscar Wilde’s tomb.
Once Campbell was there, she realized there was no good way for travelers to guide themselves through the final resting spot of celebrated figures such as Frèdèric Chopin, Édith Piaf, Gertrude Stein, Amedeo Modigliani and Marcel Proust—not to mention the graves of nearly 100 other artists, writers, architects, musicians, dancers, filmmakers and actors.
“The maps they gave out were Xerox sheets,” Campbell said of a 107-acre labyrinth with about 1 million souls buried at the time. The hunt proved frustrating.
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,…
Read full article →
(website—links to the 10/23/2019 online version of the print article, titled “Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison live on here: A stroll through Père-Lachaise Cemetery”)
October 17, 2019
Traveling with MJ Newsletter
2019 Reading Challenge
By Mary Jo Manzanares
I’ve finished 55 books so far this year, and with some travel coming up, hope to finish off a few that I’ve had queued up for far too long.… This is my recommendation for this October, perfect for Fall and Halloween reading.
Arguably the most famous and most visited cemetery in the world, Père-Lachaise is a 107-acre labyrinth housing an eternal “salon” of luminaries from the worlds of art, design, literature, the performing arts and more.…
Read full article →
(PDF)
October 2, 2019
Frommer’s
Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris: The World’s Most Legendary Necropolis
By Carolyn Campbell
A cemetery like few others
…On my first visit in 1981, I became enthralled with the cemetery’s rich history and artistic significance. Three decades later, I am still captivated by its ever-changing beauty and mystery. In my book, City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, I am thrilled to share the story of this grandest of all graveyards.
Read full article →
(website)
July 31, 2019
DRIFT Travel Magazine “Travel Tips” Blog
City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris: New Book Celebrates the Rich and Beautiful History of the World’s Most Famous Cemetery
In October 2019, Goff Books will release City of Immortals: Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, the first all-inclusive look at the history of the world-renowned cemetery from its 1804 establishment by Napoleonic decree to the present. Featuring new unpublished material, the book contains over 100 original color photographs, historical lithographs dating from the early 19th century, and a comprehensive illustrated map of the legendary necropolis that draws millions of tourists to the City of Light each year.
“If the word ‘necropolis’ means ‘city of the dead,’ then Père-Lachaise is indeed the City of Immortals. The deceased found within its walls do not rest, but instead live forever,” said author Carolyn Campbell, whose voluminous research and extensive photography of the cemetery over the last three decades gave birth to this new book.…
Read full article →
(website)
November 30, 2018
Form Magazine
Where the Dead Come to Life
By Michael Webb
Everything that makes Paris so rich in memories is distilled in the hundred acres of Père-Lachaise Cemetery. Nowhere can you find a more stellar collection of Parisian celebrities from the Middle Ages (Héloïse and Abelard), to such latecomers as Oscar Wilde, and Jim Morrison of The Doors. Angels rise from shady walks to mourn artists whose work endures. Frédéric Chopin, Georges Bizet, Édith Piaf, and Maria Callas supply the music. At every turn you find the tomb of a famous painter (Delacroix and Modigliani), actor (Sarah Bernhardt and Simone Signoret), or writer (Colette and Marcel Proust). The architecture is equally encyclopedic. Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Art Nouveau crypts are interposed with pyramids and obelisks. A wealth of statuary, bats, skulls, and draped urns make this a place of visceral awe and wonder—especially for artists and architects.…
Read full article →
(PDF)
July 13, 2018
LA Weekly
Two French Landmarks Get Some Love from U.S. Fans
By Shana Nys Dambrot
…Here are just two examples of Americans working hard to keep Paris beautiful for everyone to fall in love with. The American Friends of Saint-Germaine-des-Près supports preservation efforts at one of the world’s most beautiful and historic churches. And Los Angeles–based art impresario Carolyn Campbell has collected an archive of photographs and source images, plus three decades of sketches, maps and research, to create City of Immortals, a map and legend of the whole of the Père-Lachaise Cemetery, with a special focus on the artists, writers and musicians interred throughout its 107-acre grounds.…
Read full article →
(website)
April 6, 2018
The Paris Blog*
The Definitive Père-Lachaise
By Laurie Pike
Painter Modigliani. Playwright Molière. Actor Yves Montand. Rock star Jim Morrison. That’s just the ‘M’s. With hundreds of famous people buried in it, Père-Lachaise is not only the most famous graveyard in the world, but it is also, according to the website City of Immortals, a “magnificent open-air museum of sculpture and architecture spanning more than two centuries of art history.”…
If, like me, you haven’t visited since the de rigueur junior-year-abroad pilgrimage to Jim Morrison’s accessorized and graffiti-covered grave, it is time to take another look. Thankfully, a passionate American has set her laser focus on these 107 acres of corpses and copses.…
Read full article →
(PDF)
(*NOTE: Regrettably, The Paris Blog has ceased publication. However, you can read the original web article at The Internet Archive.)
November 24, 2017
Art and Cake Magazine
The City of Immortals: Carolyn Campbell
By Genie Davis
Los Angeles-based artist and writer Carolyn Campbell is paying tribute to the City of Immortals, the massive and visually astonishing Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
Launched on November 2nd in time for All Souls Day, Campbell’s project is two-fold: an extensive, beautifully rendered online tribute to the cemetery; and a detailed print map that features three tours, including the resting places of the most celebrated spirits in the park. Both the writing and photography are hers.…
Read full article →
(website)
November 9, 2017
West Hollywood Lifestyle
Los Angeles Artist & Writer Carolyn Campbell Launches “City Of Immortals,” an Online Tribute to the Incomparable Père-Lachaise Cemetery In Paris, France
…Los Angeles-based writer and artist Carolyn Campbell’s fascination with it began in 1981, with a bargain flight to Paris and a pilgrimage to Oscar Wilde’s tomb. “I never did find Wilde’s grave on that first trip,” says Campbell. “I was so mesmerized by the thousands of gravesites celebrating greats including Colette, Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf, Isadora Duncan, Frédéric Chopin, and Amedeo Modigliani that I had to return the following year to seek out his monument.” Today, it remains a wonderful obsession for Campbell, and she’s channeled her enthusiasm—and voluminous research and extensive photography—into an online project launching November 2 in commemoration of All Souls Day—City of Immortals: The Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris (www.cityofimmortals.com).…
Read full article →
(PDF)