The Phantom of the Opera: The Original Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author) "It was the evening on which MM. Debienne and Poligny, the managers of the Opera, were giving a last gala performance to mark their retirement..." (more)
Key Phrases: little jammes, dingy bonnet, third cellar, Christine Daaé, Angel of Music, Mame Giry (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The French author Gaston Leroux has done a fantastic job of putting elements of romance, mystery, horror, drama, and adventure into his story, producing a brilliant novel that has lasted many years and will be read over and over by book-lovers.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Description

The novel that inspired the Lon Chaney film and the hit musical. "The wildest and most fantastic of tales."--New York Times Book Review.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial; New edition edition (December 30, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060809248
• ISBN-13: 978-0060809249
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (225 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,150 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

134 of 139 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The original Phantom, August 8, 2004

By	Alysson Oliveira "Alysson Oliveira" (Sao Paulo-- Brazil) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Before the Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, there was Gaston Leroux's original novel "The Phantom of the Opera". I have never seen the production stage, and I knew only a few things of the story, so when I reached the middle of the narrative I was surprised because it is totally different from what I expected. And it was a great surprise.

More than a love story, "The Phantom of the Opera" is a gothic tale of obsession --leading to madness. The Paris Opera House and its hidden rooms, and underground are perfect place to develop a horror story. Leroux noticed this potential. His descriptions of the place are creepy and in the end we start wondering if it is not a true story indeed.

Leroux was very smart, writing a novel like he was only reporting something --and not creating a work of fiction. Therefore there are police reports, newspapers' scraps, witness interviews. More than a narrator, the person who is telling the story is only gathering useful information for the reader.

His characters are real human beings --even the `ghost', than throughout the narrative we realize that he is the one with most human characteristics. Sometimes, Christine is a little stereotypical, mostly when she says she wants to be `the mistress of her faith' or something like it. And so is Raoul --but that doesn't diminish the qualities of this engaging novel.

All in all, this is a French classic that I highly recommend --however one must be patient because the narrative is a little confusing and slow sometimes, but never boring.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing and spellbinding, May 4, 2005

By	Narya of the fire (the world of middle-earth hiden away in my mind) - See all my reviews

Everyone at one point in their lives has heard of the story of The Phantom of the Opera whether it is the oringal novel version or Andrew Lyod Webber's musical. However this is where it all began with the publication of Leroux's original novel.

I must admit that at first glance the book seems very dry and written more or less from a reporter or journalist's perspective. More or less it reminded me of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula in the fact that many of the areas of the book are written though the point of others. But once you get past seemingly the dry exterior you find an immeasurable cornucopia of amazing characters, events and one of the best literary love's and gothic work of fiction. IT personally took me a good 20 pages before I became completely absorbed in Leroux's rich world of amazing detail.

The story mainly revolves around the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny who has fallen in love with the beautiful Christine Daae who is being haunted by a mysterious "ghost" in her dressing room. The plot moves as anyone would suspect when Christine begins to return the feelings of the Vicomte but then he soon comes to realize that Christine's ghost is real and has a thing or three to say about their relationship.

I found this novel amazing, I read it in one day from the moment I picked it up and nearly had it confiscated when I was reading it in class when I should have been taking notes. There is just so much raw emotion, mystery and love in this amazing story. I could not help but be swept up in it like a tidal wave. The book gives the character of the Phantom, or Erik, so much more depth and emotions than what the ALW version even began to scratch the surface of. No matter who you are, whether or not you support Erik or not, you cannot help but be moved at his attempts to woe Christine and how shallow, yet dangerously innocent she is.

Erik has earned, on my shelf, the award of being one of the best literary characters. His love for Christine is just simply so pure that your sympathy for him is great. This book actually had me moved to tears. Luckily I was in the shelter of my room with the door safely closed so I could cry in peace at the ending. Under normal circumstances, many people see myself as the stone cold person who never cries in movies or books, but this book is the only one that has ever brought tears to my eyes.

I have read it over and over, never once have I ever regreated my purchess in any way, shape, manor or fashion. I highly recomend this to every soul on earth.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More Lon Chaney Than Michael Crawford, June 17, 2000

By	Loren D. Morrison "amateur_reviewer" (Los Angeles County, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is as much a story of the Paris Opera House as it is the tale of that misfigured creature known as the ghost, or the phantom. Without the architectural peculiarities of the real opera house, which have been put to good use in this novel, there could have been no phantom. There is a real subterranean lake in the nether regions of the opera house. There is an interconnected maze of corridors, stairways, chutes, ladders, and lifts of such great complexity that it is easy to get lost. To put this in perspective, over 2,500 doors have been counted and there are certainly more. Many of the corridors remain in almost perpetual darkness. This setting could certainly provide a home for the vast, almost subhuman culture of door-closers and other creatures of darkness that inhabit Leroux's opera house.

The phantom, as depicted by Gaston Leroux, is definitely not the rather benign Michael Crawford of the Broadway Musical. Leroux's phantom is a monster, blackmailer, kidnapper and murderer. In looks, he is more like the Lon Chaney of the silent movie.

During one of his frequent visits to the Paris Opera, Leroux came across a legend of a mysterious ghost who was supposed to have lived in the lower reaches of the theater and to have been responsible for several murders. It took him less than three months in 1911 to convert this story into THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. The book was not a success. Only because, in the mid 1920's, Universal Studios was looking for a new role for Lon Chaney and decided that this was perfect, did PHANTOM get a new life.

The plot is rather simple. Beautiful Girl is a member of the opera chorus. Phantom, very knowledgeable in these things, recognizes a great voice and a career that needs a bit of help. Phantom contrives an accident that gives Beautiful Girl the opportunity to sing a lead role. Phantom falls in love with Beautiful Girl, kidnaps her, and holds her captive in his subterranean hideaway. Beautiful girl has some feelings for Phantom, but, particularly after seeing his face, cannot reciprocate his love. Protagonist tries to rescue Beautiful Girl but is caught in Phantom's deadly booby trap. At the last possible moment, Beautiful Girl helps Protagonist escape. Phantom dies. Beautiful Girl empathises with Phantom after his death but lives happily ever after with Protagonist.

The above is an obvious simplification. To get the real sense of the terror and the eerie atmosphere of the story, and of the opera house, itself, one must read the book. The characterizations are a bit flat, but hold up well enough when compared to much of the genre fiction written today.

I've noticed that more than a few of the readers who have previously reviewed PHANTOM OF THE OPERA have stated that this is "the best book I've ever read," or in one case that it is "the best book ever written." I'd like to caution against that sort of statement. Whan calling any book the best, you are saying something about yourself. The first thing that a thoughtful person might conclude is that you're probably not very well read. What about the books of Tolstoy, or Dostoevsky, or any of hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of other excellent authors. There really are an awful lot of outstanding authors out there. Alternately, our hypothetical thoughtful person might conclude that you're just not a very good judge of literary quality. A review in your own words that leaves out the superlatives might prove much more valuable to the person seeking guidance in selecting a book.

One other comment: If a student in a class that I were teaching told me that this book is "Classic Leroux," I would probably ask him or her what makes it typical of Leroux's body of work, for that's what a classic example is. Then, because it is common knowledge that no other examples of his work are readily available, I would have to conclude that the author of this statement had no basis for this judgement.

Now, what would be my recommendation to a potential reader? If you're looking for some light reading, or if you'd like to read the book that started the whole PHANTOM tradition and, additionally, was the source of the whole horror movie genre, I would recommend it. It is of historical significance for the movie and play goers of today.