The Paris Opera Ballet
Ivor Guest began his research into the history of ballet more than sixty years ago, and has published more than thirty books on the subject. The ballet of the Paris Opera has remained a special area of study, which over the years has produced, among other works, four volumes that cover the history of that celebrated company in vivid detail, from the moment that ballet became a distinct theatre art in pre-Revolutionary times down to the Second Empire, culminating with the creation of Coppelia. His work has been recognised in France by his appointment as a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.