The Phantom of the Opera
Gaston Leroux · translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos · 1910
This book is rated Ages 13+. It isn't available on your library card.
Beneath the gilded Paris Opera, the ballet girls whisper of a ghost in evening dress who haunts Box Five, sends demanding letters to the managers and is never seen. When the young singer Christine Daae is suddenly taught to sing like an angel by a voice that speaks to her through the walls, her childhood friend Raoul de Chagny sets out to learn who her mysterious teacher really is.
A gothic romance and mystery with deaths, a kidnapping and a death-trap under the Opera, shown through shadow, distance and the moment before or after, never in gruesome detail.
Characters
Raoul
A shy young Vicomte and naval officer who loved Christine as a boy and will brave anything to find her again.
Christine Daaé
A gentle Swedish singer whose voice suddenly soars, taught in secret by a voice she believes is the Angel of Music.
Erik
A tall, gaunt figure in black evening dress and mask, a strange genius who haunts the hidden depths of the Opera.
The Persian
A mysterious jade-eyed stranger in an astrakhan cap who roams the Opera and seems to know its darkest secrets.
Richard
A hot-tempered new manager of the Opera who laughs at ghost stories and refuses to pay a phantom's demands.
Moncharmin
Richard's dapper, monocled fellow manager, amused at first by the ghost, but soon less sure what to believe.
The Narrator
A determined writer who digs through old papers and the Opera's cellars to prove the famous ghost really lived.
Mme Giry
The proud old box-keeper of Box Five, who swears she hears the ghost and faithfully serves his wishes.
Meg Giry
Mme Giry's skinny, sharp-eyed ballet-girl daughter, always ready to whisper the latest tale of the Opera ghost.
About the story
The Phantom of the Opera is set in the Paris Opera House of the 1880s. Above ground it is all gilded halls and grand performances. Below it run endless cellars and passages, and the ballet girls whisper about a ghost in evening dress with a face like a skull. When Christine Daae, a shy young understudy, sings so beautifully that the whole house rises to cheer her, her childhood friend Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny, is drawn back into her life. He is also drawn into the mystery of the unseen voice that has been teaching her to sing.
Gaston Leroux was a journalist and crime writer, and he tells the story as an investigation, built from archives, letters and the accounts of witnesses. Notes written in red ink, Box Five reserved for the ghost and the new managers' firm disbelief give the early chapters a mix of comedy and growing dread.
The novel first appeared as a serial in 1909 and as a book in 1910. It combines Gothic horror, romance and detective story, and it explores obsession, loneliness, beauty and the power of music. It has inspired many films and stage musicals, yet the original is still stranger and more surprising than most of the adaptations.
This edition is a condensed picture-book retelling based on Alexander Teixeira de Mattos's English translation. It runs to 81 illustrated pages with about 31 minutes of synthetic-voice narration, and the AI illustrations were made for this edition. The full original novel is free in the public domain and well worth reading too.
Adapted from The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (1910), public domain.
Questions
What is The Phantom of the Opera about?
A mysterious 'Opera Ghost' haunts the Paris Opera House, demanding money and a private box from its managers. At the same time, the young singer Christine Daae is being secretly taught by a voice she cannot see. Her childhood friend Raoul sets out to understand what is happening to her.
Who are the main characters?
The main characters are Christine Daae, a gifted Swedish soprano, and Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny, a young naval officer who loved her when they were children. The third is the Phantom himself, the masked figure who rules the Opera's hidden depths.
Is The Phantom of the Opera suitable for children?
This edition is rated 13+. The story has deaths, including a hanging early on, along with menacing threats, a skull-like face and a steady atmosphere of Gothic horror. It isn't graphic, but younger children may find it frightening.
How long does this edition take to read or listen to?
About 31 minutes of narration across 81 illustrated pages, so most people can finish it in one sitting.
Is this the full book?
No. It's a condensed retelling that follows the main story. The complete novel is in the public domain and free to read for anyone who wants the full version.
Read the text version: every page's caption, with its picture, on one page.
