My Featured Novel（例）

I. About the Novel: The Phantom of the Opera

The genre of The Phantom of the Opera is gothic horror. This novel was first published as a serial in a French newspaper in 1909 in a French newspaper,  Le Gaulois. A serial is a story that is published in parts, and not all at once. Readers of a serial can read a new part of the story each day or each week. Leroux may have been inspired to write The Phantom of the Opera by events that took place in the Paris Opera House in the 1880s. As a young journalist, Leroux went into the tunnels and catacombs under the opera house, in which he stumbled over the skeletons of people who were killed there during the French Revolution (Haining, 1986). Leroux later used these tunnels and catacombs as an important setting of The Phantom of the Opera.

Peter Haining (1986) explained that when The Phantom of the Opera was published it had only moderate sales and critical reviews of the book "were disappointing." After the novel was serialized in 1911 in English and American newspapers, a researcher for Universal Pictures, a US movie production company, read the serial, liked it and suggested that Universal make a movie version of the story. The movie was produced in 1925 starring Lon Chaney, and was a great commercial success. Due to the popularity of the movie, the novel also became more popular. Later movie versions and the 1986 stage play musical of the novel by Andrew Lloyd Webber have helped make the story famous worldwide. 

Works Cited （参考文献）

"Gaston Leroux." Goodreads. Goodreads, n.d. Web. 21 May 2016. <http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9057.Gaston_Leroux>.

Haining, Peter. "The Book The Man Who Created the Phantom." The Brilliant Original The Phantom of the Opera. Her Majesty's Theatre, Sept. 1986. Web. 21 May 2016. <http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/background/the-book>.


II. Versions of the Novel in the Mass Media

A. Movie Versions

The Phantom of the Opera (1925) by Universal Pictures
A disfigured former composer haunts the Paris Opera House and several people have seen the cloaked, shadowy figure. From his vantage point high above the opera house stage he sees and falls in love with young understudy Christine Daae, who is standing in for the company's principal, Carlotta. The masked phantom lures Christine into the subterranean world below Paris where he lives and professes his love. When she removes his mask, she is horrified by his grotesque appearance and begs to be released. He agrees but tells her to stay away from her lover, the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny. Terrified she turns to Raoul for protection and the outraged phantom, whom the police have determined is an insane criminal and an escapee from Devil's Island, kidnaps Christine off the stage during a performance of Faust. Assisted by Ledoux of the secret police, Raoul proceeds to enter the phantom's underground lair to rescue her.

The Phantom of the Opera (1943) by Universal Pictures

Pit violinist Claudin hopelessly loves rising operatic soprano Christine Dubois (as do baritone Anatole and police inspector Raoul) and secretly aids her career. But Claudin loses both his touch and his job, murders a rascally music publisher in a fit of madness, and has his face etched with acid. Soon, mysterious crimes plague the Paris Opera House, blamed on a legendary "phantom" whom none can find in the mazes and catacombs. But both of Christine's lovers have plans to ferret him out.

Trailer for The Phantom of the Opera (1962) by Hammer Films

B. Stage Versions
The Music of the Night - Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera (1986)

III. About the Author: Gaston Leroux

Gaston Leroux was born in Paris in 1868. While Leroux was in school as a young person, he wrote poetry and short stories, and he studied the writing of famous French authors such as Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas. In university, Leroux studied law and graduated in 1889. After his graduation from university, Leroux worked as a journalist and during his time as a journalist, he investigated and reported on many dramatic events, including the death of a wealthy patron of the Paris Opera, who died when part of a chandelier fell on him while at the opera. This event was very similar to an event that takes place in Leroux's most famous novel, The Phantom of the Opera.

Leroux continued to write novels throughout his life, and his stories included "adventure, mystery, and horror, but also romance and fantasy," (Gaston Leroux). As noted above, Leroux's most famous novel, The Phantom of the Opera, was first published in 1909 as a serialized story. In 1911 this novel was translated into English and published in English speaking countries. Other novels written by Leroux included "The Queen of the Sabbath (1909),The Double Life (1904), The Bride of the Sun (1915), The Man Who Came Back From the Dead (1916), Balaoo (1913), The Haunted Chair (1922),The Kiss that Killed (1924), The Machine to Kill (1924), and The Adventures of a Coquette (1926)," (Gaston Leroux).

By the time Leroux died at age 59 in 1927, he had written more than 60 novels. It has been reported that Leroux saw the first film version of The Phantom of the Opera made by Universal Pictures in 1925. It is not known what he may have thought about the film, though we could guess he would have thought it was entertaining.

Works Cited （参考文献）

Haining, Peter. "The Book The Man Who Create the Phantom." The Brilliant Original The Phantom of the Opera. Her Majesty's Theatre, Sept. 1986. Web. 21 May 2016. <http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/background/the-book>.

Yanni. "Gaston Leroux." - Biography and Works. Search Texts, Read Online. Discuss. Jalic Inc., n.d. Web. 21 May 2016. <http://www.online-literature.com/leroux/>.

IV. My Reaction to The Phantom of the Opera

B. Reaction Point - Setting

• 定義 - The setting is the time, place and/or situation in which a story takes place.
• 例 - The time of story is the later half of the 19th century. The place is in and around the Paris Opera House. The situation is basically a love-triangle between a beautiful young opera singer, a young nobleman and a mysterious madman who is the teacher and mentor of the singer.
• 略 - All of the aspects of setting are very romantic and provide mystery and drama to the story.

B. Reaction Point - Appeal

• 定義 - Appeal is the reasons why a story is liked.
• 例 - The appeal in this story is mostly the strange and dangerous relationship between the singer and her teacher, the phantom.
• 略 - This relationship is complicated and therefore very interesting. The phantom loves his student and helps her become an opera star, but because he's ugly to look at (and more than a little strange), the student rejects his love and tries to escape from him. This tragic one-sided love is something that all readers can imagine and feel strongly.

C. Reaction Point - Symbolism

• 定義 - Symbolism is the greater or deeper meaning of a character, object, setting or event in a story.
• 例 - There are three important symbols in this story. The phantom symbolizes a contradiction between what is real and what is not real. His mask represents the way that all of us hide our imperfections. The setting, the Opera House itself, represents the dark side of life.
• 略 - All of these symbols have deep meanings that make the reader think about her or his own identity and how she or he represents herself or himself to the world. This connection to the inner psychology of the reader makes the story interesting because the reader identifies with the characters and situation, and can imagine herself or himself in that situation.

D. My General Opinion

This story continues to be popular and famous because readers can relate to the character of the phantom. All of us have good points and bad points. All of us have an inclination to hide our bad points in order to be loved and accepted. All of us have been rejected and have lost love in various forms. We all know that the phantom is a monster who should be destroyed, but at the same time, we can all feel how the phantom feels. We can understand his pain. The depth and complexity of this story and its characters are timeless, and something all people can enjoy, even as they are horrified by the evil of the phantom.