卡斯頓·勒鬍（Gaston Leroux, 1868-1927），20世紀初期法國最傑齣的推理小說作傢，在法國有“永恒的記者”之稱。勒鬍畢業後在一傢律師事務所做書記員，業餘創作隨筆和短篇小說。1890年開始投身報業，曾作為特派記者周遊世界各地。1900年開始創作長篇小說。他的小說風格詭異，擅長以不可思議的內容與場景營造恐怖玄異的氣氛，並且在恐怖中淋灕盡緻地錶達人性。他的著作《黃色房間之謎》被稱譽為“不可模仿、不可超越的推理小說傑作”。

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 .