Here is the most comprehensive edition ever produced of the classic 1911 novel of romance, mystery, and psychological suspense, now presented in a brand-new translation from the original French by Leonard Wolf, fully annotated with thousands of facts, biographical information, and legends.
The essential Phantom of the Opera also includes a major new introductory essay by noted authority on Gothic literature Leonard Wolf which connects the adventurous, sensational life of Gaston Leroux, cultural and social forces of turn-of-the-century Paris, classical myth, and other elements that enrich and illuminate the text of the novel; a complete filmography of Phantom films and a chronology of major dramatic and musical adaptations for the stage, including Andrew Lloyd Webber's hugely successful musical; dozens of illustrations, including photographs of the Opera Garnier, which provides the magnificent setting of the novel, reproductions of the covers of the early French editions of The Phantom of the Opera, plus stunning line drawings by Max Douglas throughout; and a full bibliography of works by and about Gaston Leroux, including critical works on The Phantom of the Opera.