Dominique Lapierre, author of 'City of Joy', dies at 91

Dominique Lapierre the French author known for his bestselling books on India like Freedom at Midnight and City of Joy and whose novels sold tens of millions of copies has diedAt 91 he died of old age his wife Dominique ConchonLapierre told the French newspaper VarMatin on SundayShe added that she is at peace and serene since Dominique is no longer sufferingBorn on July 30 1931 in Chatelaillon Lapierre has sold about 50 million copies of the six books he wrote in collaboration with the American writer Larry Collins the most famous being Is Paris BurningThe nonfiction book published in 1965 chronicled the events leading up to August 1944 when Nazi Germany surrendered control of the French capital and was adapted for the silver screen by Francis Ford Coppola and Gore VidalHis 1985 novel City of Joy about the hardships of a rickshaw puller in Kolkata was also a massive success A movie based on it was released in 1992 starring Patrick Swayze and directed by Roland JoffeLapierre donated the bulk of his royalties from City of Joy to support humanitarian projects in IndiaWhen he visited Mother Teresa in Kolkata in the early 1980s he presented her with 50000 admitting it was only a drop in the ocean of needThe Albanian nun reportedly replied If this drop did not exist even the ocean would notIn 2005 Lapierre said that thanks to his funding of humanitarian work as well as donations from readers it became possible to cure a million tuberculosis patients in 24 years and to care for 9000 children with leprosy Its not enough to just be a bestselling author said the adventureloving novelist who spoke fluent BengaliYou need to fight against the injustices you write about in your booksIdol in West BengalBorn to a diplomat father and a journalist mother Lapierre worked as a reporter for French magazine ParisMatch in the 1950s a job that sent him around the worldIn West Bengal he was revered as an idol according to a 2012 article by Paris Match magazine when he banged the drum for funding for humanitarian centres as donations dried up following the economic crisis in the United States and EuropeAfter Is Paris Burning he continued his fruitful partnership with CollinsThe duo specialised in highly researched dramatisations of historical events such as the creation of Israel O Jerusalem 1972 and the Indian independence movement in Freedom at Midnight 1975 largely considered a moving and seminal account of the partition of IndiaTheir success was credited to how they complemented each other Lapierre had contacts in the French intelligence services while Collins with the CIA Both authors also wrote in their respective languages and translated each others workAnd if Lapierres prose tended to the lyrical Collins insisted on a firm grounding in factsThey also cowrote Or Ill Dress You in Mourning a biography of the Spanish bullfighter El Cordobes and two fiction thrillers about terrorist plans to destroy New York The Fifth Horseman in 1980 and Is New York Burning in 2004The first had Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi as the villain and the second was inspired by the September 11 2001 attacks by Islamic militantsFor a long time Lapierre lived near Collins in SaintTropez their residences separated by a tennis courtAlso Read How this Mumbai bookseller found his calling on a footpath in MatungaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever