Joanne Taylor is a Sydney-based scholar, writer and photographer with a passion for Indian architecture and culture. She has written for numerous publications, studied Indian history at the University of Sydney, and has done a thesis on Calcutta's Great Houses for the University of New South Wales. Joanne’s first visit to India, in 1971, left an indelible impression on her. In The Forgotten Palaces of Calcutta, she achieves her aim of showing another side of the city of Calcutta; a city which she feels, leaves a lasting impact on all who embrace it, a feeling that is reflected in her book The Great Houses of Calcutta, which she co-wrote with Jon Lang, as well.