Edith Piaf : find me a new way to die : the untold story /
David Bret.
- ix, 229 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 22 cm.
Includes discography and index.
Edith Piaf was one of 20th century France's brightest stars, an international sensation, and since her death in 1963 has become a legendary figure. Her life story is so compelling that it has become difficult to separate the truth from the hearsay, thanks to a wealth of stories, plays, films and biographies about her life, designed to lionize: that she was born on the pavement of Rue de Belleville 72 on a pile of coats; raised in a brothel; a hero of the French resistance; losing the love of her life in a plane crash, and her untimely death from liver cancer. Shrouded by these fantastical stories, the 'real' Edith Piaf is often indistinguishable from the legend. Having written two biographies of Edith Piaf over the past twenty-five years, David Bret has become intimate with many of those who knew the legendary singer. Much of the information he collated previously did not appear in his earlier Piaf volumes, as some interviewees did not wish what they said to be published until after their death. November 2015 will see Edith Piaf's centenary, and ahead of this, David has written a new biography which centres around these very important interviews - with Piaf's friends, lovers, colleagues and songwriters. For the first time, David Bret is in a position to reveal the material that was too controversial to publish whilst the interviewees were alive. This new book will mean a significant revision to the Piaf myth.
9781783199297 9781783199280
Piaf, Edith, 1915-1963.
Women singers--France--Biography. Singers--France--Biography.