The Phantom of the Opera (Illustrated)
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Publisher Description
The Phantom of the Opera is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It is overshadowed by the success of its various film and stage adaptations. The most notable of these were the 1925 film depiction, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical. There have been numerous literary and dramatic works based on The Phantom of the Opera, ranging from musicals to films to children's books. Well-known stage and screen adaptations of the novel include Universal Pictures' 1925 silent film version starring Lon Chaney, Universal Pictures' Academy Award winning 1943 Technicolor version starring Claude Rains, Ken Hill's 1976 musical at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, the 1986 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, and Phantom (1990) by Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit. (Wikipedia)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The inaugural release in the Horror Writers Association Haunted Library of Horror Classics series will be a revelation to those familiar only with the musical based on the 1910 novel by LeRoux (1868 1927). The tale of a Paris opera house inhabited by a spectral figure with seemingly magical abilities remains genuinely creepy today. Much of the book's power stems from the author's presentation of his narrative as the factual product of his own diligent archival research and interviews with survivors of the phenomenon. This understated treatment means that even his spoiler-laden prologue heightens rather than lessens suspense. A turnover in the management of the opera house coincides with sightings of the so-called Opera ghost and the grim discovery of the hanged corpse of Joseph Buquet, the company's chief scene-shifter. These events are followed by an unexpectedly triumphant performance by Christine Dae , who previously had an undistinguished singing career, which proves to be linked to the phantom. Fans of literate horror, whatever their opinion of Andrew Lloyd Weber, will be gratified.
