Phantom of the Opera

The little known, brilliant original text by Gaston Lerouxhas been immortalized by screen and stage adaptations.One of the greatest horror stories of all time, The Phantomof the Opera makes compulsive reading. It abounds with wonderful descriptions, extraordinary events, tragedy,horror, pathos, tremendous humour and a gallery of charming minor characters. Leroux’ s portrait of the hideous musician, crazed by his own extreme ugliness,shows compassionate insight into a criminally insanemind. Music infuses the story, enriching the many dimensions of the novel which is steeped in the glamourof life at the Paris Opera.
The author’ s knowledge of the building itself and the extra ordinary history of itsconstruction create a basis of realism in the story.Incredible, seemingly supernatural elements are art fully fused with real facts, with references to real peop]e,places and events, so that the novel becomes a dazzling blend of illusion and reality. It is hard to distinguish between them, and the result is that each chillingmoment is intensified. Gaston Leroux was a master ofhis genre.

Book Description
The Wordsworth Classics covers a huge list of beloved works of literature in English and translations. This growing series is rigorously updated, with scholarly introductions and notes added to new titles.

This novel is a tale of extraordinary events, tragedy, horror, pathos, humour and a gallery of minor characters. The portrait of the hideous musician, crazed by his extreme ugliness, shows compassionate insight into the criminally insane mind.

From Publishers Weekly
Gaston Leroux's famous gothic novel of intrigue and romance beneath the Paris Opera House has spawned a number of spinoffs; this storybook adaptation is not among the more felicitous. It tells, of course, of the beautiful opera singer Christine and the choice she must make between the disfigured Phantom, who taught her her craft, and the Viscount she has long loved. Leroux's is an intricate and complex story; here, it is given a summarized, reductive treatment. Characters and their motivations are scantily developed; the prose has a rushed, breathless quality that is overly melodramatic even for its subject; and, as presented, many specifics of the plot, as well as its eventual resolution and meaning, seem likely to leave children bewildered. The illustrations are stylized and garishly colored; they do not help to explicate the text nor do they make it inviting to the picture-book audience. No ages given.

From Independent Publisher
This children's version of The Phantom of the Opera may be of special interest to those adults fortunate enough to have seen the Broadway smash hit of the same name. Those attending will be uniquely qualified to compare the picture book to the musical production. Both works are based on Gaston Leroux's novel of 1911, as were several earlier film adaptations. For the majority of readers, those who have not seen the stage production, the book must be judged on its own merit whether or not it succeeds as a children's story. Author Peter Neumeyer admits that distilling the essence of this 300-page novel into a fairy tale was not easy. He has concentrated on the more dramatic scenes: the falling chandelier; the descent of the Viscount and the Persian into the dismal cellars of the Paris Opera House with all their horrors; and the conclusion, in which the tears of the Phantom and the heroine, Christine, mingle. Some may say the story is too sophisticated for young children, but it is no more so than some versions of Beauty and the Beast. The language used is that of a classic fairy tale. Don Weller's wonderfully flamboyant color illustrations, falling somewhere between great art and cartoons, add immensely to the book. 'Me interplay between text and illustration makes for a perfect format and a visual treat. Recommended for children of all ages--~'and their parents."

From the Inside Flap
In 1910, the mystery novelist Gaston Leroux, working from scraps of history, theatrical lore, and his own fertile imagination, created a masterpiece in Le fant?me de l'opéra, the story of a disfigured composer who lives in the labyrinthine depths of the Paris Opera. After the breathtaking debut of Christine Daaé, the whispers of an Opera ghost seem to become reality as the young singer vanishes. As the Phantom strikes again and again, targeting foes from a jealous diva to a romantic rival, Leroux spins a thriller of obsession and violence with, at its center, a tormented murderer who awakens our deepest fears and sympathies. The inspiration for Andrew Lloyd Webber's long-running musical, Leroux's novel is still more riveting than anything Broadway could produce.

Book Dimension :
length: (cm)19.8 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)12.6

Introduction
Author’s Introduction
1 Is it the Ghost?
2 The New Margarita
3 Why the Managers Resigned
4 Box Five
5 The Enchanted Violin
6 A Visit to Box Five
7 The Fatal Performance
8 The Mysterious Brougham
9 At the Masked Ball
10 Forget the Man’s Voice.t’
11 Above the Trap-Doors
12 Apollo’s Lyre
13 AMasterstroke
14 The Safety-Pin
15 ‘Christinet Christinet’
16 Marne Giry and the Ghost
17 The Safety-Pin Again
18 The Commissary of Police
19 The Viscount and the Persian
20 In the Cellars of the Opera
21 Vicissitudes of a Persian
22 In the Torture-Chamber
23 The Tortures Begin
24‘Barrels! Barrels!’
25 Which Shall She Turn?
26 The End of the Ghost
Epilogue