Strange things are going on at the Paris Opera House: a mysterious phantom-a skeleton in dinner dress-is wreaking havoc amongst the singers and the backstage staff. When new managers take over, and dismiss the rumors of the Opera Ghost, the terror really begins. Who is the mysterious figure stalking the stage at night? How can he be everywhere at once, and enter and leave locked rooms at will? And what is his connection to the beautiful and talented young soloist, Christine? Gaston Leroux's brilliant and disturbing book is best known, perhaps, through its many stage and screen adaptations, but the original text outdoes them all in its gothic tension and its haunting horror.
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About the Author
Gaston Leroux was born in Paris in 1868. He grew up on the Normandy coast, where he developed a passion for fishing and sailing. Upon reaching adulthood, he qualified as a lawyer, but upon his father's death, his received a large inheritance, and left the law to become a writer. He first found fame as an investigative reporter on L'Echo de Paris, and travelled the world in a variety of disguises, reporting on a wide range of topics from volcanic eruptions to palace revolutions. In 1907, he changed career once again, and started work as a novelist, finding critical and commercial success with works such as The Mystery of the Yellow Room (1907) and The Phantom of the Opera (1911). Leroux continued to be a prolific writer until his death in 1927-the result of complications following an operation.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply Phantastic!,
By JohnMatthias "Eric Giunta" (Tallahassee, FL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Phantom of the Opera (Collector's Library) (Hardcover)
This was one book I really enjoyed reading. The format was very convenient; I could carry this classic around in my pocket; and the reading is not overly difficult, so I could read it in-between dealing with customers at work!
I got hooked on "Phantom of the Opera" only after watching the film rendition of the Lloyd Webber musical. As a practicing Catholic, I was moved by the spiritual/religious overtones of this piece (as in nearly all of Webber's musicals and operas). I read the book and expected a similar gratification; I wanted to know the original story. And it was better (as books invariably are)! Gaston Leroux combines in his novel suspense, horror, intringue, romance, and punctuates it respectfully with spiritual elements that really bring out the Catholic piety of the protagonists. (This spiritual element I thought was brought out more in the film than in the musical.) The musical does depart from the main storyline in several important respects; one must rid themselves of all presuppositions and approacht this book on its own terms, as Leroux would have wanted. My favorite character, for instance, was Madame Giry, but she is not the ballet instructor in Leroux's tale, but is the Phantom's eccentric box-keeper. This novel is not to be missed and rightly ranks among the French classics. A pity that more people know about the fimls than they do the original!
3.0 out of 5 stars
Satisfied with customer service,
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This review is from: The Phantom of the Opera (Collector's Library) (Hardcover)
The vendor actually sent a wrong item - children's book instead of the barnes and noble collection. But when I emailed them they responded in a timely manner and refunded via amazon gift card. I'm satisfied with the vendor's customer service.
4.0 out of 5 stars
No one sees the Angel,
This review is from: The Phantom of the Opera (Collector's Library) (Hardcover)
The mask, the music, the dark mysteries, and the tortured, deformed genius who just wants love. "The Phantom of the Opera" is so well known that its story needs no explanation.
But Gaston Leroux's novel is still a spellbinding experience, full of atmospheric horror, a sense of gothic mystery, and lushly evocative language. But its crown jewel is Erik: a magnificently tortured anti-hero who inspires more horror, pity and sympathy than the rather flat hero and heroine. The Paris opera house is said to be haunted by a ghost with a "death's head," who demands a small salary and a reserved box. Despite the sightings and fears of ballerinas and stagehands, the new managers are determined to stamp out this ridiculous story -- despite threatening letters and increasing accidents that happen around them. Meanwhile, budding diva Christine Daae is taking Paris by storm, although nobody quite knows who taught her how to sing. And when her childhood friend Viscount Raoul de Chagny pays her a visit, he hears a passionate exchange between her and a man -- but there's no man there. She credits her new vocal abilities to the Angel of Music, but of course, that self-same Angel is the opera ghost. As the Phantom becomes even more attached to Christine, Raoul soon finds that the ghost is actually a half-mad, horribly deformed musical genius named Erik -- and that after Christine saw his true face, he made her become engaged to him. The young lovers plan to run away together, but the "Angel of Music" isn't about to allow his beloved Christine to leave him... Apparently there actually were some odd events -- including rumours of an opera ghost -- happening when Gaston Leroux began writing "The Phantom of the Opera." And it's a credit to his imgination that he was able to spin a some odd facts into a harrowing, heartbreaking love triangle that's based on music, obsession, adoration, and a bit of pity. And, of course, a frighteningly sympathetic "villain." Admittedly the style is very "penny dreadful": melodramatic and overloaded on prose. But Leroux's talent shines through -- he drapes the book in a haunted atmosphere, full of snowy graveyards, dark opera backstages and underground labyrinths, all with Erik's presence hovering over it. The plot is mostly a slow, satiny procession toward the inevitable blowup, but Leroux does tinge it with scenes of romantic drama, a feeling of dread, one shocking action scene, and even some quirky humour at times. And Leroux's writing is simply astounding as he describes the corpselike appearance of Erik ("... tore his terrible dead flesh with my nails") and his "death's" head appearance at the party. But he also excels at the more poignant moments -- Erik's final, rambling monologue to Christine after she kisses him is heartbreakingly clumsy and saddening. Though Christine and Raoul are the hero and heroine of the book, they're actually kind of flat. Erik is the real star -- an arrogant genius who is also pitifully lonely. And insane. Despite his crazed behavior -- which results in at least two deaths -- it's hard not to feel sympathy for someone cursed with such a ghastly appearance, and so starved for human contact that a single kiss changes his life ("... he tried to catch my eye, like a dog sitting by its master"). Despite being a bit overblown in the style of its time, "The Phantom of the Opera" is a triumph of atmosphere, horror, and one of the most memorably sympathetic "villains" that you can find on the shelves. Magnificent.
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