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I would like to find something about the Past life of the Opera and how his beauty is hidden by his dark mask and devious acts, I would also like to find information about his family. Posted by stellad on Apr 23, 2009. |
The Phantom of the Opera Group
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It is always interesting to think about the early lives of fictional characters, isn't it? The Phantom is particularly interesting because we want to know how he came to be the way he is. There are two authors who have created "pasts" for the Phantom. One is Susan Kay, who wrote Phantom, a book I just loved. The other is Peter Bregman, who wrote a graphic novel called The Trap-Door Maker: A Prequel to the Phantom of the Opera. I have not read this one, but it looks interesting. I am not aware of any web sites that create a "past" for the Phantom, but both books are described on Amazon, and you can take a "peek" inside The Trap-Door Maker. Your library might have copies of either or both, and if they do not, many libraries have a system that allows them to borrow books from other libraries for you. I hope this helps. Good luck! Posted by speamerfam on Apr 23, 2009. |
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The 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Laroux, gives a fairly detailed background for the character. Disfigured since birth, the character, who is only called "Erik" and whose real name is never given, was born in Rouen, France, and raised by Gypsies who use him as a sort of "freak exhibit." He develops skills as a ventriloquist and illusionist, as well as a singer. He eventually comes to the attention of "the Shah of Persia", who hires him. During his years in Persia Erik becomes an architect, building palaces with elaborate secret passages and hidden rooms, and also works as an assasin. Eventually the Shah decides Erik knows too many secrets, and orders him blinded and then killed. But Erik escapes with the help of "the daroga" also known as "the Persian", a mysterious police official from Persia who follows Erik to Paris and is the source of the biographical information given in the novel. Erik resides for some time in Constantinople, again working mysteriously as an architect, and apparently at some time travels to the French colonies of Indo-China. Ending up in Paris, the deformed builder somehow becomes involved in the planning and construction of the Opera House, which is how it comes to be filled with hidden passages and a home for the Phantom. The link below leads to the text of the novel. http://www.online-literature.com/leroux/phantom_opera/ Posted by hi1954 on Apr 23, 2009. |

