The Phantom of the Opera

Introduction

The Phantom Of The Opera is a story that has been retold many times since it was first published over a century ago by the French writer, Gaston Leroux. It's been the base of countless films, plays and musicals. The most famous being the west-end musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The musical remains one of the most popular musicals in the world. The novel where everything starts off is just as worthy in my opinion.

Gaston Leroux

Gaston Leroux was a French author and journalist. He graduated as a law student and worked in journalism until 1907 where he became a full-time author. Phantom of the Opera remains one of his most famous works to date, but he's also written a lot of mysteries. The most popular out of those mysteries is The Mystery in the Yellow Room. I haven't read that book yet, but it sounds like something I would be interested in.

'The Phantom of the Opera'

The Phantom of the Opera is a story with many themes; love, obsession, music and mystery. It takes place in a glorious opera house in Paris. The book was originally a series of articles that Leroux did as part of his investigations. The legend of the opera ghost pipped his interest and eventually, the articles were converted into a full novel. When it was first published, it didn't receive the love that now has today.

Opera Garnier and its staff were a huge inspiration for his novel. A lot of the decor and staff play an important role in the book. The famous chandelier is an image that comes to mind. And then there's Madame Giry and her daughter Meg, along with the ballet girls. Most importantly, the opera ghost is known as Erik. You could almost consider this a historical novel.

Erik who the character is based on also had his own chambers to keep him from being seen and took ownership of box five which he wanted empty for him.

The selling point of the story is the love triangle between Christine Daaé, Erik and Christie's childhood sweetheart, Viscount Raoul de Chagny. The musical uses the love triangle aspect quite well, but in the novel, I'm not sure if it qualifies as a love triangle. (At least on Christie's side of things.)

In this novel, it's clear that she is in love with Raoul, but fears angering Erik who she considers a mentor. I think the pacing, backstory, and world-building in this is spot on and adds a lot of exotic elements in this. I also like Persian in this, and it's a shame that people that have only seen the musical will miss out on him.

Characters

I can still recognise the characters from the musical and I feel with the novel that I know them a lot better. Like in the musical, I wanted to know more about Christie's childhood and I felt the novel did this.

Erik has a tragic past and a horrific upbringing. Even though he does some terrible things and succumbs to madness. I still find it very hard to call him a villain or an antagonist. We read about him being neglected over his disfigured face and how he relies on the mask to prevent people turning away from him. A part of me wanted him redeemed so much.

Madam Giry and her daughter Meg are also interesting characters but I don't think that they respected Erik as much as Christine. I think they may have taken pity in him but that's about it. However, I think it's supposed to be implied that both women are fond of him but I don't see it personally.

Christina Daaé is very fragile. Even though she is meant to be in her early twenties, in some translations of the book, she has the innocence of a child. I could very easily see her as a teenager in this. Maybe about 15+.

She's also got a pretty sad backstory as well. She's missing the musical father that she was always close to and she blindly believes the tales that she's told her. Especially the one about the angel of music, which she believes is Erik. Her innocence is an attractive trait.

I've noticed in many adaptations that Raoul's role is reduced as a simple love interest to Christine. I don't think that it gives his character enough justice as he's shown to be just as complex and interesting as the other characters in this novel. He's got a much bigger role in the book in my opinion and we also get to know more about his family. Still, the rivalry between Raoul and Erik remains as intense as ever. I actually feel it's a lot darker than how it's shown in the musical.

Summary

I've read this novel several times and enjoyed it each time. I've seen many versions of the story and I think that the original novel is the darkest out of all of them. At one point I thought that I had been warped into the universe of one of Victor Hugo's novels.

I think fans of the musical and films would enjoy this book. I already owned the original version on my kindle and though 100 Classic Books collection I have it on my DS. I have it in paperback as well after paying 50p for it. The paperback version I own is an abridged version by Doris Dickens (Great-Granddaughter of Charles Dickens), which was made suitable for children. I think it served its cause.