Frontline control caster?

[Rfkannen]

I enjoy playing full casters who focus on control spells (terrain manipulation, debuffing, moving enemies around, etc.) However, I dislike playing backline characters. (I find it a lot more fun when my character is up in the middle of the action, sniping from a distance as an archer is my least favorite type of gameplay)

I want to play a control caster who runs into combat with the barbarians and the fighters, but I can't think of a build that actually benefits from doing that; I mean, you can cast hold person just as effectively from 30 feet away as you can from 5 feet away. The only effect being in melee has is that your concentration will break quicker, and you are more likely to die. That's not even getting into the fact that many casters are squishy and can't survive being in the thick of combat.

Are there any good control caster builds that can survive being in melee? Are there any that benefit from being in melee range? What type of character would you recommend?