Gaston Leroux
Encyclopedia
Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux (6 May 1868 15 April 1927) was a French
journalist
and author
of detective fiction
.
In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel The Phantom of the Opera
(Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, 1910), which has been made into several film and stage productions of the same name, notably the 1925 film
starring Lon Chaney
; and Andrew Lloyd Webber
's 1986 musical
.
in 1868. He went to school in Normandy
and studied law
in Paris, graduating in 1889. He inherited millions of francs and lived wildly until he nearly reached bankruptcy. Subsequently in 1890, he began working as a court reporter
and theater critic for L'Écho de Paris
. His most important journalism came when he began working as an international correspondent for the Paris
newspaper Le Matin
. In 1905, he was present at, and covered, the Russian Revolution.
Another case he was present at involved the investigation and in-depth coverage of the former Paris Opera
(presently housing the Paris Ballet). The basement contained a cell that held prisoners of the Paris Commune
.
He suddenly left journalism in 1907, and began writing fiction. In 1909, he and Arthur Bernède
formed their own film company, Société des Cinéromans to publish novels simultaneously and turn them into films. He first wrote a mystery novel entitled Le mystère de la chambre jaune
(1908; The Mystery of the Yellow Room
), starring the amateur detective Joseph Rouletabille
. Leroux's contribution to French detective fiction is considered a parallel to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
's in the United Kingdom and Edgar Allan Poe
's in the United States.
Leroux died in Nice
, France on April 15, 1927 of a urinary tract infection.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of detective fiction
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
.
In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera
Le Fantôme de l'Opéra is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialisation in "Le Gaulois" from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910...
(Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, 1910), which has been made into several film and stage productions of the same name, notably the 1925 film
The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)
The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 American silent horror film adaptation of the Gaston Leroux novel of the same title directed by Rupert Julian. The film featured Lon Chaney in the title role as the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to force...
starring Lon Chaney
Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
; and Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's 1986 musical
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
.
Biography
Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux was born in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1868. He went to school in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
and studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
in Paris, graduating in 1889. He inherited millions of francs and lived wildly until he nearly reached bankruptcy. Subsequently in 1890, he began working as a court reporter
Court reporter
A court reporter, stenotype reporter, voice writing reporter, or transcriber is a person whose occupation is to transcribe spoken or recorded speech into written form, using machine shorthand or voice writing equipment to produce official transcripts of court hearings, depositions and other...
and theater critic for L'Écho de Paris
L'Écho de Paris
L'Écho de Paris was a daily newspaper in Paris from 1884 to 1944.The paper's editorial stance was initially conservative and nationalistic, although it did later become close to the French Socialist Party. Its writers included Octave Mirbeau, Georges Clemenceau, Henry Bordeaux, François Mitterrand,...
. His most important journalism came when he began working as an international correspondent for the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
newspaper Le Matin
Le Matin (France)
Le Matin was a French daily newspaper created in 1883 and discontinued in 1944.Le Matin was launched on the initiative of Chamberlain & Co, a group of American financiers, in 1883, on the model of the British daily The Morning News. The direction of the project was entrusted to the French...
. In 1905, he was present at, and covered, the Russian Revolution.
Another case he was present at involved the investigation and in-depth coverage of the former Paris Opera
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
(presently housing the Paris Ballet). The basement contained a cell that held prisoners of the Paris Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
.
He suddenly left journalism in 1907, and began writing fiction. In 1909, he and Arthur Bernède
Arthur Bernède
Arthur Bernède was a French writer, poet, opera libretist, and playwright.He was born in Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine department, in Brittany....
formed their own film company, Société des Cinéromans to publish novels simultaneously and turn them into films. He first wrote a mystery novel entitled Le mystère de la chambre jaune
The Mystery of the Yellow Room
The Mystery of the Yellow Room: Extraordinary Adventures of Joseph Rouletabille, Reporter by Gaston Leroux, is one of the first locked room mystery crime fiction novels...
(1908; The Mystery of the Yellow Room
The Mystery of the Yellow Room
The Mystery of the Yellow Room: Extraordinary Adventures of Joseph Rouletabille, Reporter by Gaston Leroux, is one of the first locked room mystery crime fiction novels...
), starring the amateur detective Joseph Rouletabille
Joseph Rouletabille
Joseph Rouletabille is a fictional character created by Gaston Leroux, a French writer and journalist.-Overview:In the first novel, The Mystery of the Yellow Room, Rouletabille solves an attempted murder in a locked room mystery...
. Leroux's contribution to French detective fiction is considered a parallel to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
's in the United Kingdom and Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
's in the United States.
Leroux died in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, France on April 15, 1927 of a urinary tract infection.
The Adventures of Joseph Rouletabille
- Le mystère de la chambre jaune (The Mystery of the Yellow RoomThe Mystery of the Yellow RoomThe Mystery of the Yellow Room: Extraordinary Adventures of Joseph Rouletabille, Reporter by Gaston Leroux, is one of the first locked room mystery crime fiction novels...
, 1907) - Le parfum de la dame en noir (The Perfume of the Lady in Black, 1908)
- Rouletabille chez le Tsar (Rouletabille with the Tsar; UK/US: The Secret of the Night, 1913)
- Rouletabille à la guerre (Rouletabille at War; 1914) consisting of
- Le château noir (The Black Castle; UK: The Slave Bangle, US: The Phantom Clue, 1926)
- Les étranges noces de Rouletabille (The Strange Wedding of Rouletabille; UK: The Sleuth Hound, US: The Octopus of Paris, 1927)
- Rouletabille chez Krupp (1917)
- Le crime de Rouletabille (1921)
- Rouletabille chez les Bohémiens (1922)
Other Novels
- Le petit marchand de romme de terre frites (1897)
- Un homme dans la nuit (* Les trois souhaits (* Une petite tête (1902)
- La double vie de Théophraste Longuet (1903)
- Le roi mystère (1908)
- L'homme qui a vu le diable (1908)
- Le lys (1909)
- Le fauteuil hanté (1909)
- La reine de Sabbat (1910)
- Le fantôme de l'Opéra (The Phantom of the OperaThe Phantom of the OperaLe Fantôme de l'Opéra is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialisation in "Le Gaulois" from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910...
, 1911) - Balaoo (Balaoo, 1911)
- Le dîner des bustes (1911)
- La hache d'or (1912)
- L' épouse du soleil (1912)
- Première aventures de chéri-Bibi (1913)
- La colonne infernale (1916)
- Confitou (1916)
- L' homme qui revient de loin (1916)
- Le capitaine Hyx - La bataille invisible (1917)
- Le coeur cambriolé (1920)
- Le sept de trèfle (1921)
- La poupée sanglante - La machine à assassiner (1923)
- Le Noël du petit Vincent-Vincent (1924)
- Not'olympe (1924)
- Les ténébreuses: La fin d'un monde & du sang sur la Néva (1924)
- Hardis-Gras ou le fils des trois pères (1924)
- La coquette punie ou la farouche aventure (1924)
- La femme au collier de velours (1924)
- La mansarde en or (1925)
- Les Mohicans de Babel (1926)
- Les chasseurs de danses (1927)
- Mister Flow (1927)
- Pouloulou (1990, posthumous)
External links
- About Gaston Leroux, gaston-leroux.net
- Books and Biography of Leroux, Gaston, readprint.com L'univers de Joseph Rouletabille, rouletabille.perso.cegetel.net
- Everything about Phantom legend and his creator, Gaston Leroux, ladyghost.com
- Gaston Leroux At Find A Grave, findagrave.com Gaston Leroux, his work in audio version, litteratureaudio.com
