The Phantom of the Opera
-
- $4.99
Publisher Description
The classic story of a dangerous love triangle set in an 1890s Paris opera house.
Rumored to be haunted, the Palais Garnier opera house in nineteenth-century Paris is the setting for this story of a dangerous love triangle involving a young Swedish soprano, her mysterious “Phantom” tutor, and her childhood friend. When Carlotta, the lead soprano, takes ill and Christine Daaé’s understudy performance is a rousing success, Vicomte Raoul de Chagny falls in love with Christine. Meanwhile, her tutor, “the Angel of Music,” whom she believes has been sent by her deceased father, is also coveting Christine’s affections. But the Angel is no phantom as everyone believes, and his fears of Christine’s rejection due to his masked disfigurement prompts him to abduct her and extract a promise of marriage born of wild jealousy. This latest addition to the Word Cloud Classic series will have you burning the candles low to reach the dark, gothic ending.
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.
