Phantom Of The Opera

The Phantom of the Opera was originally a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialization in Le Gaulois from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910. Initially, the story sold very poorly upon publication in book form and was even out of print several times during the twentieth century, despite the success of its various film and stage adaptations. The most notable of these were the 1925 film depiction and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical. The Phantom of the Opera musical is now the longest running Broadway show in history, and one of the most lucrative entertainment enterprises of all time.

There have been many literary and dramatic works based on Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera, ranging from light operas 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; Susan Kay's 1990 Phantom is one of the best known novels and includes in-depth study of Erik's life and experiences.