Permanent Parisians: An Illustrated Guide to the Cemeteries of Paris
"There is little depressing about French cemeteries. Although the three or four hundred cats of Père Lachaise lie low during the day, its passages are alive with gatekeepers, picnickers, and tourists looking for famous names. Such names are around every corner. Here is Chopin, there Gertrude Stein. Among those buried in Père Lachaise alone are Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt, Isadora Duncan, Auguste Comte, Georges Seurat, Edith Piaf, and Héloïse and Abélard."Permantent Parisiansprovides a guided tour through the cemeteries of Paris, with lively biographical discussions and photographs of the beautifully decadent sculptures and statuary to be found on each itinerary. Lest you think such sights morbid, consider these words by Balzac: "I seldom go out, but when I feel myself flagging I go and cheer myself up in Père Lachaise ... while seeking out the dead, I see nothing but the living."--Jhana Bach