Modern audiences are well acquainted with Gaston Leroux's infamous Phantom of the Opera, the tale of Erik, a horrifically disfigured man who lives in the underground beneath the Paris Opera House, where his creative genius mingles - and festers - with madness. First published in 1910, the Phantom's obsessive and consuming love for the beautiful young chorus girl Christine has captivated readers, film goers and musical theater fanatics for over 100 years. Passion, violence and suspense: all the makings of a great thriller are here, in this enduring novel where "hero" is a relative term and love is both destructive and redemptive.