The Phantom of the Opera
by Gaston Leroux
Translated by Mireille Ribière
Penguin Classic, 2009, 368 pages
This new unabridged translation of Gaston Leroux’s best known novel in the English-speaking world marked the centenary of the first publication of Le Fantôme de l’Opéra.
The story is set in the early 1880s at the Paris Opera House where rumours of a ghost take on a terrifying reality when the beautiful young singer Christine Daaé suddenly disappears after a triumphant performance. A growing sense of fear and violence pervades the vast, dimly-lit labyrinth that lies at the heart of this magnificent building.
With its pervading atmosphere of menace, tinged with dark humour, The Phantom of the Opera (1910) offers a unique mix of Gothic horror and tragic romance that has inspired film, stage and literature since its publication.