Author of ‘Freedom at Midnight’ No More

Dominique Lapierre, the famous French author, who penned world-famous books like ‘City of Joy’ and ‘Freedom at Midnight’, passed away at the age of 91.

This best-selling French writer had a special soft corner for India. He has also written a book named ‘India My Love’. He was a Padma Bhusan Awardee.

“At 91, he died of old age,” his wife Dominique Conchon-Lapierre told the French newspaper Var-Matin on Sunday. “At peace and serene since Dominique is no longer suffering”, she added.

Lapierre was born on July 30, 1931, in Chatelaillon. In collaboration with American writer Larry Collins he wrote six famous books including ‘Freedom at Midnight’ describing tumultuous times of India’s independence, partition, and Gandhiji’s murder.

In 1985, Lapierre published his solo novel ‘City of Joy’. This fiction told the story of hardships faced by a poor rickshaw puller in Kolkata. A Hollywood movie based on the novel was released in 1992. Om Puri and Patrick Swayze acted in this movie directed by Roland Joffe.

This French author donated a major portion of royalties from ‘City of Joy’ for humanitarian projects in India.