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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

Print Price: $12.50

Format:
Paperback
320 pp.
129 mm x 196 mm

ISBN-13:
9780199694570

Publication date:
March 2012

Imprint: OUP UK


The Phantom of the Opera

Gaston Leroux
Translated by David Coward

Series : Oxford World's Classics

"I am not an angel nor a genie nor a ghost...I am Erik!"

A mysterious Phantom haunts the depths of the Paris Opera House where he has fallen passionately in love with the beautiful singer Christine Daaé. Under his guidance her singing rises to new heights and she is triumphantly acclaimed. But Christine is also loved by Raoul de Chagny, and by returning his love she makes the fiend she knows as the Angel of Music mad with jealousy. When the Phantom is finally unmasked, will Christine see beyond his hideous disfigurement? The twists and turns of Leroux's thrilling story have captivated readers since its very first appearance in 1910, and its outlines are known to many more who have seen it on stage or film. This new translation is as full-blooded and sensational as the original.

David Coward's introduction tells the fascinating story of the novel's genesis, and his thorough notes further illuminate details of the narrative. Christine's plight, the fate of Erik, and the redemptive power of love make an unforgettable novel.

Readership : Readers of popular literature, fantasy, fans of the stage show; students of popular literature, literature in translation, French studies, popular culture, the gothic, film studies.

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David Coward writes widely on the history, literature, and culture of France. A regular contributor to the Times Literary Supplement, London Review of Books, and national newspapers, he won the Scott-Moncrieff Prize for Translation in 1996. He is the author of A History of French Literature (Blackwell, 2002), and for Oxford World's Classics has translated and edited works by Dumas, Diderot, Sade, and Beaumarchais.

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Special Features

  • A new translation of Leroux's classic Gothic melodrama, the original novel behind Andrew Lloyd Webber's famous musical.
  • A terrific story set in the Paris Opera House, that combines mystery, crime, adventure, detection, and tortured love, in a sparkling translation from the prize-winning editor and translator of Dumas.
  • The only edition to combine a new translation and full editorial material which sheds light on aspects of the novel that intrigue readers.
  • The introduction considers Leroux's life and career, the serialized fiction genre of which he was the last great exponent, and makes a case for the book as a work of considerable literary craft.
  • Appendix on the construction of the Paris Opera helps set the novel in its architectural context.
  • Notes explain allusions and provide illuminating contextual information.