Phantom of the Opera

5th grade Unit

Author of the Book:

Gaston Leroux   (1868-1927)

 

1.   He was born May 6, 1868 while his mother was attempting to change trains in Paris.   The house where he was unexpectantly born later became an undertaker's parlor.

 

2.   As a child, he was an excellent student and showed promise, writing short stories and poetry.   He seemed destines to become a lawyer.

 

3.   In 1889 he received his law degree.   Shortly thereafter, his father died leaving him a large inheritance.   He proceeded to squander the money during the next six months.

 

4.   After 3 years, he gave up being a lawyer and went to work at a newspaper, writing news and being a drama critic.   He was a highly successful reporter.   He was the first on the scene at many exciting and important events.   He visited kings, volcanoes, and even attended executions.   One of his stories even freed a condemned prisoner.

 

5.   By 1907, he tired of the reporter's life and decided to become a writer.   He already had written several successful books such as   Seeking of the Morning Treasure (1903),   and   Mystery of the Yellow Room (1907).   He was to write seven more detective novels, all of which were very successful.

 

6.   In 1919 he founded a film company called Cineromance.   His daughter Madeline acted in some of his productions.

7.   Phantom of the Opera was published in 1911.   Leroux was inspired to write it b visiting the Paris Opera House (pictured to the left).   He explored the building including the lower levels.   He saw the lake; he saw the areas that had been a prison during the Franco-Prussian War.   He recalled an incident in 1896 when the chandelier fell, killing someone.

 

8.   Leroux imagined that during the 14-year period of building the Opera House, it was entirely possible for a person with an architectural background to create a complex honeycomb of secret passageways and chambers.   He gave the Phantom the training and vocation of an architect, as well as a passion for music.

 

9.   The Phantom of the Opera would have probably faded away if it wasn't for the fact that Universal Studios made it into a silent movie.   It starred the famous "man of a thousand faces" Lon Chaney, whose horrifying portrayal of Leroux's Phantom caused men to cringe and women to faint.   The movie was released in 1925.