Gaston Leroux has literally become a phantom of French literature. Many of his works have long been forgotten in time. Details of his life are buried in dust. And even in his most famous work, The Phantom of the Opera, it is almost forgotten that Leroux had any hand in it. So exactly who is this Phantom writer? Perhaps in the course of this article, the face behind his mask can be revealed.

Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux was born on May 6, 1868 in Paris, France. His father and mother were traveling to their home in Normandy when his mother gave birth to him in a house on the Parris streets. The house later became an undertaker’s business. When learning this as a young adult he dryly commented, “There, where I sought a cradle, I found a coffin.”

Leroux grew up in Normandy where he developed a love for the sea and ships. He attended the College of Eu, a grammar school, and developed a love for literature and writing, though his teachers encouraged him to pursue law. He won many academic prizes throughout his time in school. He moved on to receive a law degree in 1889, though he had continued to write throughout his years of education. Eventually one of his sonnets was published in L'Echo de Paris. With this new-found fame, Leroux no longer held an interest in the law.

He received a large inheritance after his father’s death, which he quickly squandered away on drink and gambling. He became a well-liked host and companion in Parris during his brief time of fortune, despite his poor eyesight and pudgy frame. When his francs at last ran out, he gave up his position as a lawyer and took a job at the aforementioned newspaper, L’Echo de Parris, in 1890. Around this time, he became fascinated with theater. He quickly moved on to a position for Le Matin, a more well-read newspaper, where he took to writing investigative reporting. He became renowned for his cutting-edge reports and brilliant pieces. Eventually he became a traveling correspondent, journeying through all parts of the eastern hemisphere, from Japan to Russia, from North Africa to Arabia. When describing his passion for news reporting, he said, “No one can equal the reporter's zest for life, since nobody else possesses such a delight in observation ... The reporter watches on the world's behalf, he is the spy-glass of the world. Oh, how I love my profession!”

During his young adulthood, he married Marie Lefranc who he quickly separated from. Stubbornly, his scorned wife refused divorce so Leroux was forced to find a lover in Jeanne Cayatte who became his mistress quite willingly, even baring him children (Andre-Gaston in 1905, Madeleine in 1908). She would remain his mistress until 1917 when Marie at last gave in and agreed to divorce.

Gaston Leroux’s first novel, The Seeking of the Morning Treasures, was published in 1903, followed by two more in the series. With the publication of The Mystery of the Yellow Room, Leroux left newspaper reporting permanently in 1909. Inspired by Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Edgar Allen Poe, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he wrote his first largely successful novel, The Mystery of the Yellow Room, in a “Sherlock Holmes” style. The novel’s protagonist and detective, Rouletabille, would appear in seven later novels by Leroux. Throughout his career as a novelist, he wrote twenty-four newspaper serials, seven plays, and many shorter works.

Gaston Leroux was one of the first authors to use the “locked room mystery,” or a murder committed within a locked room. But along with mystery, Gaston also indulged in writing romance, fantasy, and horror. Many of Gaston Leroux’s works focused on a heroine threatened by a dark, dangerous character. In addition, as a fan of theater, he wrote scripts which later developed into screenplays. His first was L'Homme qui Revient de Loin, one of his novels rewritten for the up and coming industry of film. In 1919 Leroux became one of several owners of the film company Cinéromans. But by 1922 he had lost his passion for motion pictures.

His most remembered and well-loved novel, The Phantom of the Opera, published in 1911, was nearly a failure, gathering little interest by readers after it first came into print. Combining fact and fiction, real events, places, and characters, plus a fascination for the mysterious Paris opera house, Leroux wove a tail based upon the first words of the narrative, “The Opera ghost really existed.” Readers of the time soon developed interest in the novel as it began to appear in newspapers.

Despite his large popularity and fame during his lifetime, Leroux continued to suffer from chronic gambling and never was able to maintain financial richness. Still, he lived a happy, successful life until his sudden death on April 15, 1927, at the age of fifty-nine, due to an unexpected illness after an operation.

Almost all of Leroux’s works have since become long forgotten, with the exception of The Phantom of the Opera. This spell-binding tale made its mark on history with the film interpretation of 1924 by Universal Studios. Since then, it has become well-loved by contemporary viewers who have had the pleasure to witness one of the film or theater versions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Extraordinary Adventures of Joseph Rouletabille, Reporter
1. The Mystery of the Yellow Room (1908)
2. The Perfume of the Lady in Black (1908)
3. The Secret of the Night (1914)
4. The Sleuth Hound (1926)

Adventures of Cheri-Bibi
1. Cherri-Bibi and Cecily (1923)
2. Wolves of the Sea (1923)
3. The Dark Road (1924)
4. Nomads of the night (1925)
5. The New Idol (1928)

Novels
The Double Life (1904)
The Phantom of the Opera (1910)
The Floating Prison (1910)
The Man with the Black Feather (1912)
The Bride of the Sun (1915)
The Man Who Came Back From the Dead (1916)
The Haunted Chair (1922)
The Veiled Prisoner (1923)
The Kiss that Killed (1924)
The Machine to Kill (1924)
The Adventures of a Coquette (1926)
The Phantom Clue (1926)

Collections
The Burgled Heart (1926)