What do you think?
Rate this book
The Phantom of the Opera: The Lost Chapter
On September 23, 1909, the Parisian daily newspaper, Le Gaulois, published its first installment of Gaston Leroux’s Le Fantôme de l’Opéra (The Phantom of the Opera). This type of serialized publication, in France called a “feuilleton,” was common from the middle of the 19th century through the beginning of the 20th century. Many authors of the day published their novels section by section in newspapers to gain readership and to work out ideas before the publication of the first edition. Between the newspaper printing and the first edition, it was common for chapters to be added, rewritten, or removed as part of the editing process. In the feuilleton of Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, Gaston Leroux wrote a chapter called “L’enveloppe magique” (“The Magic Envelope”). Leroux decided to omit this chapter from his first edition, and so it only appeared in Le Gaulois. Since the feuilleton has never been translated, few people apart from the most dedicated Phantom enthusiasts are familiar with this lost chapter. For the first time, the text of “The Magic Envelope” has been translated into English so that fans of The Phantom of the Opera can read this forgotten gem. This chapter provides explanations for several enigmas that have puzzled readers since Leroux’s first edition, and it offers a fascinating glimpse into the writing process of one of France’s literary icons.
44 pages, Paperback
First published January 22, 2014
6 people are currently reading
269 people want to read
About the author
Gaston Leroux
1,118 books1,084 followersGaston Louis Alfred Leroux 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, such as the 1925 film starring Lon Chaney, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical. It was also the basis of the 1990 novel Phantom by Susan Kay.
Leroux 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. Then 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 deep coverage of an opera house in Paris, later to become a ballet house. The basement consisted of a cell that held prisoners in the Paris Commune, which were the rulers of Paris through much of the Franco-Prussian war.
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 simultaneously publish novels 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 America. Leroux died in Nice on April 15, 1927, of a urinary tract infection.
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, such as the 1925 film starring Lon Chaney, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical. It was also the basis of the 1990 novel Phantom by Susan Kay.
Leroux 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. Then 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 deep coverage of an opera house in Paris, later to become a ballet house. The basement consisted of a cell that held prisoners in the Paris Commune, which were the rulers of Paris through much of the Franco-Prussian war.
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 simultaneously publish novels 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 America. Leroux died in Nice on April 15, 1927, of a urinary tract infection.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 3, 2015
Though this isn't really a true "book," more like an interesting appendix that would be great attached to any modern Phantom translation, I thought gaining new insight into the original book and having a couple pesky questions finally answered made this little volume well worth the purchase price. Though my translation of choice is the Bantam one by Lowell Bair, I found reading "The Lost Chapter" after reading the David Coward translation of The Phantom of the Opera especially enlightening. Coward's explanation in the introduction to that edition of the book's journey from feuilleton to first edition novel set the stage (ugh, bad pun there) for Freeman's "lost" chapter translation. She also gives a brief explanation of where this chapter first appeared, where is "disappeared to," and why, but I still found reading the two in order extra helpful.
There isn't any mind-blowing new information contained in this feuilleton excerpt, but if you're a long time Phantom-geek like me you'll find the dashes of insight completely awesome. I won't give any spoilers out, but it did clear up certain questions I had, for instance, what "three knocks" was Richard referring to in Chapter 18, or why Mercier and Gabriel are suddenly "in" on the business of "the magic envelope" near the end of the story, when it appeared early on that Richard and Moncharmin wanted to contain the knowledge of the "prank" they were being subjected to to as few people as possible. It even shed light on questions I didn't even know I had. For one, I had always assumed Erik had gone up to "the Box of the Blind" in Chapter 10 to find out where Christine had run off to (and this always sat badly with me, because it was hard to imagine him not knowing exactly where in the Opera House she was every single second), when in fact it was for a completely different reason, explained in this missing chapter then cut from the assembled novel. Also, I never really thought twice about why Erik filled "the magic envelope" with play money, assuming it was to make it the same weight and thickness as the one containing the 20,000 francs so Madam Giry wouldn't guess what was truly inside it. Now knowing little things like those will probably make my next re-read of The Phantom of the Opera more clear and even more interesting than it already was.
All in all this was a very short read, but one I was very grateful for. If Freeman truly does publish another new translation of the original book, I'd be very interested in reading it.
There isn't any mind-blowing new information contained in this feuilleton excerpt, but if you're a long time Phantom-geek like me you'll find the dashes of insight completely awesome. I won't give any spoilers out, but it did clear up certain questions I had, for instance, what "three knocks" was Richard referring to in Chapter 18, or why Mercier and Gabriel are suddenly "in" on the business of "the magic envelope" near the end of the story, when it appeared early on that Richard and Moncharmin wanted to contain the knowledge of the "prank" they were being subjected to to as few people as possible. It even shed light on questions I didn't even know I had. For one, I had always assumed Erik had gone up to "the Box of the Blind" in Chapter 10 to find out where Christine had run off to (and this always sat badly with me, because it was hard to imagine him not knowing exactly where in the Opera House she was every single second), when in fact it was for a completely different reason, explained in this missing chapter then cut from the assembled novel. Also, I never really thought twice about why Erik filled "the magic envelope" with play money, assuming it was to make it the same weight and thickness as the one containing the 20,000 francs so Madam Giry wouldn't guess what was truly inside it. Now knowing little things like those will probably make my next re-read of The Phantom of the Opera more clear and even more interesting than it already was.
All in all this was a very short read, but one I was very grateful for. If Freeman truly does publish another new translation of the original book, I'd be very interested in reading it.
Read
February 20, 2014I'm actially not going to rate this book.
It's not a novel based on the PotO story. It's a translation of a lost chapter.
In this book there are also French original text of the chapter, notes and a bit more.
I really, really enjoyed the reading. It's great, that Ms Freeman IS a truly Phantom fan, and she IS in a mood to translate 100-ear old French of Leroux.
There are some translation issues in her work (comparing to the French original), but the whole wrok is great. I only wish Ms Freeman would finish her translation of the whole Phantom of the Opera novel.
It's not a novel based on the PotO story. It's a translation of a lost chapter.
In this book there are also French original text of the chapter, notes and a bit more.
I really, really enjoyed the reading. It's great, that Ms Freeman IS a truly Phantom fan, and she IS in a mood to translate 100-ear old French of Leroux.
There are some translation issues in her work (comparing to the French original), but the whole wrok is great. I only wish Ms Freeman would finish her translation of the whole Phantom of the Opera novel.
June 10, 2020
In my perpetual quest to actualize this classic story from all angles possible, I truly appreciate the work of this translator, a true labor of love, into making this a reality for English speakers. As I'm not equipped to read the story in its native language I am constantly looking for different interpretations and translations and to have this further insight in my favorite story is wonderful. I really hope she goes ahead and does a full translation of the novel as I had heard was planned at some point.
Read
February 5, 2020I'm won't rate this book because it's not really a book or a novella, it's the translation of a lost chapter. 16 total pages of English writing and then the same amount of pages in French.
The booklet has notes and some history on how books were produced in the 1900's. It was given to me as a gift and I enjoyed reading it.
There are some translation issues and this "chapter" does not flow as well as the book. For example, she translated P of the O for Phantom of the Opera whereas in the book he is referred to as the O.G. Opera Ghost. It's a great addition and a must have for any Phans.
The booklet has notes and some history on how books were produced in the 1900's. It was given to me as a gift and I enjoyed reading it.
There are some translation issues and this "chapter" does not flow as well as the book. For example, she translated P of the O for Phantom of the Opera whereas in the book he is referred to as the O.G. Opera Ghost. It's a great addition and a must have for any Phans.
December 16, 2025
Sheds a “little illumination” onto a tricky Phantom!
I was very pleased to be able to read this lost chapter of the Phantom of the Opera…my only complaint is that I would love to have more!
I was very pleased to be able to read this lost chapter of the Phantom of the Opera…my only complaint is that I would love to have more!
November 6, 2021
My favorite parts of Phantom of the Opera are when Erik is messing with the managers it’s always so funny 🤣
April 15, 2020
Well, it feels odd to give this a middle of the road star rating, given that it's effectively a deleted scene from a book that I like and rate more highly, but on the other hand the manager-related chapters are my least favorite portions of the OG (ha) book, sooooo. I'm not exactly mourning the loss of this chapter. It's just more back and forth letter trickery featuring Richard and Moncharmin getting duped.
Cool of the translator to find it and translate it, though! I'm surprised it's not more widely discussed.
Cool of the translator to find it and translate it, though! I'm surprised it's not more widely discussed.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews