卡斯顿·勒胡（Gaston Leroux, 1868-1927），20世纪初期法国最杰出的推理小说作家，在法国有“永恒的记者”之称。勒胡毕业后在一家律师事务所做书记员，业余创作随笔和短篇小说。1890年开始投身报业，曾作为特派记者周游世界各地。1900年开始创作长篇小说。他的小说风格诡异，擅长以不可思议的内容与场景营造恐怖玄异的气氛，并且在恐怖中淋漓尽致地表达人性。他的著作《黄色房间之谜》被称誉为“不可模仿、不可超越的推理小说杰作”。

Gaston Leroux is one of the originators of the detective story, and The Phantom of the Opera is his tour de force, as well as being the basis for the hit Broadway musical. A superb suspense story and a dark tale of obsession, The Phantom of the Opera has thrilled and entertained audiences in adaptations throughout the century.

This new translation—the first completely modern and Americanized translation—unfurls the full impact of this classic thriller for modern readers. It offers a more complete rendering of the terrifying figure who emerges from the depths of the glorious Paris Opera House to take us into the darkest regions of the human heart. After the breathtaking performance of the lovely Christine Daae and her sudden disappearance, the old legend of the “opera ghost” becomes a horrifying reality as the ghost strikes out with increasing frequency and violence—always with the young singer at the center of his powerful obsession. Leroux has created a masterwork of love and murder—and a tragic figure who awakens our deepest and most forbidden fears.

This is the only complete, unabridged modern Americanized translation available. Lowell Bair is the acclaimed translator of such Bantam Classics as Madame Bovary , Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and Candide .