Misplaced Pages

#508491

39-543: Susan Kay (born 1952) is a British writer, the author of two award-winning novels: Legacy and Phantom . Kay was born on 1952 in Manchester , England. She worked as a primary school teacher until leaving to bring up a family, and now lives with her husband and two children in Cheshire . Kay’s first novel was Legacy (1985), about the life of Queen Elizabeth I and won a Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize and

78-453: A Betty Trask Award in 1985. Her second novel, Phantom (1991), expands upon the history of Erik, the hideous, brilliant character from Gaston Leroux 's The Phantom of the Opera , in an episodic format of seven chapters from different characters' points of view – first Erik's mother, immediately revolted by her own son; then Erik as a boy being exhibited as a circus freak; then Giovanni,

117-536: A Gothic romance . In his article, Fitzpatrick compares the Phantom to other monsters featured in Gothic novels such as Frankenstein's monster , Dr. Jekyll, Dorian Gray, and Count Dracula . The Phantom has a torture chamber where he kidnaps and kills people, and the walls of the chapel in the graveyard are lined with human bones. Drumright notes that The Phantom of the Opera checks off every trope necessary to have

156-481: A Gothic novel according to the Encyclopedia of Literature's description which says, "Such novels were expected to be dark and tempestuous and full of ghosts, madness, outrage, superstition, and revenge." Although the Phantom is really just a deformed man, he has ghost-like qualities in that no one can ever find him or his lair and he is seen as a monster. People are frightened by him because of his deformities and

195-521: A character of Kay's creation, who takes him in; then Nadir, known in Leroux's novel as the Persian, who is greatly expanded upon and gives an account of Erik in the bloodiest days of his life; then Erik, describing how he settled into his role as Phantom of the Opera; then a back-and-forth narrative between Erik and Christine Daaé , whom he loves obsessively; and lastly, Raoul de Chagny, Erik's rival, giving

234-428: A deformed man called Erik . Erik intends to hold her prisoner in his lair with him for a few days. Still, she causes him to change his plans when she unmasks him and, to the horror of both, beholds his skull-like face. Fearing that she will leave him, he decides to hold her permanently. However, when Christine requests release after two weeks, he agrees on the condition that she wear his ring and be faithful to him. On

273-579: A fair in Rome , Erik meets Giovanni, a master mason who takes the boy on as his apprentice. He stays with Giovanni until age 15, when Erik is forced to flee again after inadvertently causing the death of Giovanni's daughter Luciana. Four years later, he is sought out by Nadir, the Daroga of Mazanderan Court and becomes a court assassin, magician, and personal engineer to the Persian Shah . Responsible for

312-431: A lawyer, but after spending his inheritance gambling he became a reporter for L'Écho de Paris . At the paper, he wrote about and critiqued dramas, as well as being a courtroom reporter. With his job, he was able to travel frequently, but he returned to Paris where he became a writer. Because of his fascination with both Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle , he wrote a detective mystery entitled The Mystery of

351-538: A movie in 1925. Leroux did not live to see all the success from his novel and its subsequent critical re-evaluation; he died in April 1927. There have been many literary and other dramatic works based on Leroux's novel, ranging from stage musicals to films to children's books. Some well-known stage and screen adaptations of the novel are the 1925 film and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical . Leroux's novel

390-583: A target for the superstitious villagers. Much of the verbal and physical abuse Erik suffers from his mother is chronicled in the opening chapters of the novel. From a young age, Erik exhibits a strong interest in architecture and is privately tutored by a well-respected professor, but his strongest abilities lie in the subject of music. His mother does not encourage his pursuit of singing, claiming that his supernaturally beautiful voice cannot have been created by God. At nine years old, Erik runs away from home, believing this will make his mother's life easier. After

429-401: A week or so without food, he stumbles upon a Romani camp in the woods. Upon seeing his face, a freak show showman named Javert decides to exhibit him as the "Living Corpse" and Erik is locked in a cage. He remains with the tribe until he is about 12 years old, when the showman drunkenly attempts to force himself on him, at which point Erik kills him and is forced to flee. While performing at

SECTION 10

#1732780655509

468-463: Is led by a mysterious Opera House regular, 'the Persian', into Erik's secret lair in the bowels of the building. Still, they end up trapped in a mirrored room by Erik, who threatens that unless Christine agrees to marry him, he will kill them and everyone in the Opera House by using explosives. Under duress, Christine agrees to marry Erik. Erik initially tries to drown Raoul and the Persian, using

507-401: Is styled as a mystery novel , as its frame is narrated by a detective acquiring his information through various investigations. The mystery under investigation is the identity and motive of 'the Phantom' who lurks through the opera house, seemingly appearing out of nowhere as if by magic in inaccessible places. But, it seems that the mystery novel frame story is a façade for the genre being more

546-659: The denouement . She did not travel to Iran to research the novel, although she did research in person at the Paris Opera House . The novel won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association in 1991. Phantom (Kay novel) Phantom is a 1990 novel by Susan Kay , based on the 1910 Gaston Leroux novel The Phantom of the Opera . It is a biography of

585-476: The "Angel of Music", whom her father used to tell her and Raoul about. When Raoul suggests that she might be the victim of a prank, she storms off. Christine visits her father's grave one night, where a mysterious figure appears and plays the violin for her. Raoul attempts to confront the figure but is struck and knocked out in the process. Back at the Palais Garnier, the new managers receive a letter from

624-400: The 'Phantom of the Opera', or simply the 'Opera Ghost', after stagehand Joseph Buquet is found hanged, the noose around his neck missing. At a gala performance for the retirement of the opera house's managers, a young, little-known Swedish soprano, Christine Daaé , is called upon to sing in place of the opera's leading soprano, Carlotta, who is ill. Christine's performance is a success. Among

663-505: The Opera , though the relationship between Christine and Erik is explored in greater detail and with greater compassion than the original novel. For several years, Phantom was out of print, and was only available on the secondary market. After the film version of Phantom Of The Opera was released in 2004, interest in the fandom—and prices for the book—rose dramatically. The novel was reprinted in October 2005 by Llumina Press. In Sweden

702-502: The Phantom demanding that they allow Christine to perform the lead role of Marguerite in Faust and that box 5 be left empty for his use, lest they perform in a house with a curse on it. The managers assume his demands are a prank and ignore them. Soon after, Carlotta ends up croaking like a toad, and a chandelier drops into the audience, killing a spectator. The Phantom, having abducted Christine from her dressing room, reveals himself as

741-539: The Yellow Room in 1907, and four years later he published Le Fantôme de l'Opéra . The novel was first published in newspapers before finally being published as a book. The setting of The Phantom of the Opera is the actual Paris opera house, the Palais Garnier . Leroux had heard the rumours about the time the opera house was finished, and these rumours became closely linked with the novel: Act One of

780-640: The Yellow Room and The Perfume of the Lady in Black . Although previous commentators have asserted that The Phantom of the Opera did not attain as much success as these previous novels, being particularly unpopular in France where it was first published, recent research into the novel's early reception and sales has indicated the contrary. One book review from the New York Times expressed disappointment in

819-403: The acts of violence he commits. The novel features a love triangle between the Phantom, Christine, and Raoul. Raoul is seen as Christine's childhood love whom she is familiar with and has affection for. He is rich and therefore offers her security as well as a wholesome, Christian marriage. The Phantom, on the other hand, is not familiar. He is dark, ugly and dangerous, and therefore represents

SECTION 20

#1732780655509

858-509: The audience is the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, who recognizes her as his childhood playmate and recalls his love for her. He attempts to visit her backstage, where he hears a man complimenting her from inside her dressing room. He investigates the room once Christine leaves, only to find it empty. At Perros-Guirec , Christine meets with Raoul, who confronts her about the voice he heard in her room. Christine says she has been tutored by

897-427: The direction of the movie. His take on the novel, making it a dark romantic movie with comedy, was not popular with audiences. Finally, the film was reworked one last time by Maurice Pivar and Lois Weber . They removed most of Sedgwick's contributions and returned to the original focus. This time, the movie was a success with audiences. The most famous adaptation of the novel was Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical of

936-613: The entertainment of the Khanum, the Shah's mother, he builds sophisticated traps and torture devices for her amusement. In addition, he is involved in the design and construction of a palace for the Shah. After becoming involved in political intrigue, Erik makes his way back to France, where he helps design and build the Palais Garnier Opera House. The rest of the book loosely follows the original novel The Phantom of

975-461: The forbidden love. However, Christine is drawn to him because she sees him as her Angel of Music, and she pities his existence of loneliness and darkness. By the time Leroux published The Phantom of the Opera , he had already gained credibility as a crime mystery author in both French- and English-speaking countries. He had written six novels prior, two of which had garnered substantial popularity within their first year of publication: The Mystery of

1014-486: The graveyard scene that comes later where the Phantom plays the fiddle for Christine and attacks Raoul when he tries to intervene. Drumright points out that music is evident throughout the novel in that it is the basis for Christine and Erik's relationship. Christine sees Erik as her Angel of Music that her father promised would come to her one day. The Phantom sees Christine as his musical protégé, and he uses his passion for music to teach her everything he knows. The novel

1053-475: The managers. Leroux uses the operatic setting in The Phantom of the Opera to use music as a device for foreshadowing. Ribière makes note that Leroux was once a theatre critic and his brother was a musician, so he was knowledgeable about music and how to use it as a framing device. She uses the example of how Leroux introduces Danse macabre which means "dance of death" in the gala scene which foreshadows

1092-458: The novel was only printed once, which makes it rather rare. In the Swedish translation by Lena Torndahl, the whole sequence involving Christine finding a gigantic spider on her pillow and begging Erik (who has throughout the novel compared himself to a spider) to kill it has been cut. Hardcover: Paperback: Ebook The Phantom of the Opera (novel) Leroux initially was going to be

1131-561: The opera Hellé had just finished when a fire in the roof of the opera house melted through a wire holding a counterweight for the chandelier, causing a crash that injured several and killed one. Using this accident paired with rumours of a ghost in that same opera house, Leroux wrote Le Fantôme de l'Opéra and published it in 1910, which was later published in English as The Phantom of the Opera . The underground "lake" that he wrote about, in reality an enormous cistern, does exist beneath

1170-549: The opera house, and it is still used for training firefighters to swim in the dark. The serialized version contains an entire chapter ( "L'enveloppe magique" ) that does not appear in the novel version—though much of its content was added in other chapters—and was not reprinted in English until 2014. In the 1880s, in Paris , the Palais Garnier Opera House is believed to be haunted by an entity known as

1209-438: The ring he gave her. He also makes 'the Persian' promise that afterward, he will go to the newspaper and report his death, as he will die soon "of love." Later, Christine returns to Erik's lair, and per his request returns the ring and buries him 'somewhere he will never be found'. Afterward, a local newspaper runs the note: "Erik is dead". Christine and Raoul then elope together, never to return. The epilogue reveals that Erik

Susan Kay - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-460: The roof of the Opera House, Christine tells Raoul about her abduction and makes Raoul promise to take her away to where Erik can never find her, even if she resists. Raoul says he will act on his promise the next day. Unbeknownst to Christine and Raoul, Erik is watching them and overheard their whole conversation. The following night, the enraged and jealous Erik abducts Christine during a production of Faust and tries to force her to marry him. Raoul

1287-518: The same name . With his second-hand copy of the novel and his artistic goals set on creating a major romantic piece, Lloyd Webber and his team wrote a musical that honored the original text while crafting a story that resonated deeply with audiences at the time. During the show's development, however, there were disagreements over whether it was "inspired by" or "based on" Gaston Leroux's novel. Bill O'Connell, an assistant to film producers in New York at

1326-419: The time, contended for the show to appear as "based on" rather than "inspired by", as he viewed the latter as a minimization of Gaston Leroux's original involvement with the story. Lawyers for producer Cameron Mackintosh and Webber's Really Useful Theatre Company responded, saying that it was never their intention "to fail to give appropriate prominence to the contribution of M. Leroux". They didn't, however, use

1365-500: The title character Erik. The Phantom is born as Erik in Boscherville , a small town not far from Rouen , in the summer of 1831. His spoiled, vain mother scorns her deformed child from birth, puts a mask on his face, and cannot bring herself to name him. Instead, she instructs the elderly priest who baptises him to name the child after himself. Erik is forced to spend his childhood locked in his home lest he or his mother become

1404-731: The water which would have been used to douse the explosives. Still, Christine begs, promising him not to kill herself after becoming his bride. Erik releases Raoul and 'the Persian' from his torture chamber. When Erik is alone with Christine, he lifts his mask to kiss her on her forehead and is eventually given a kiss back. Erik reveals he has never kissed anyone, including his own mother, who would run away if he ever tried to kiss her. Moved, he and Christine cry together. She also holds his hand and says, "Poor, unhappy Erik", which reduces him to "a dog ready to die for her". He allows 'the Persian' and Raoul to escape, though not before making Christine promise that she will visit him on his death day and return

1443-487: The way the phantom was portrayed, saying that the feeling of suspense and horror is lost once it is found out that the phantom is just a man. The majority of the notability that the novel acquired early on was due to its publication in a series of installments in French, American, and English newspapers. This serialized version of the story became important when it was read and sought out by Universal Pictures to be adapted into

1482-555: Was born deformed, and the son of a construction business owner. He ran away from his native Normandy to work in fairs and caravans, schooling himself in the circus arts across Europe and Asia, and eventually building trick palaces in Persia and Turkey. Returning to France, he started his own construction business. After being subcontracted to work on the Palais Garnier's foundations, Erik discreetly built his secret lair, complete with hidden passages and other tricks that allowed him to spy on

1521-403: Was made into two silent films. The first film version, a German adaptation called Das Gespenst im Opernhaus , is now a lost film . It was made in 1916 and was directed by Ernest Matray. The next adaptation, a 1925 Universal Studios silent film, stars Lon Chaney as the Phantom. Due to tensions on the set, there was a switch in directors and Edward Sedgwick finished the film while changing

#508491