Author Fun Facts: Gaston Leroux

Hello Guys!

So today I decided to do another one of my author fun fact posts. The author being spotlighted today is Gaston Leroux, who is the author responsible for one of my favorite classics, The Phantom of the Opera. Now I will admit that I didn’t know much about this author before I started hunting the internet to find interesting facts about him. I have learned so much that I didn’t know, and I hope that you will too.

Let’s get the knowledge train started!

The Phantom of the Opera was originally published as a poorly received serialized novel in 1909.
He was born on May 6, 1868 in Paris, France.
When he declared bankruptcy he had to work as a court reporter and a theater critic.
The Phantom of the Opera is seen as a version of Beauty and the Beast.
He was known to right mystery novels, and was seen as the French version of a fictional detective.
He loved to fish and sail.
He knew he wanted to be a writer at a young age.
He held a law degree, however since it took so long for him to complete it, by the time he had it, he discovered he didn’t want to pursue a career in that profession anymore.
Inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Stendhal, and Arthur Conan Doyle, Leroux wrote numerous novels of adventure, mystery, and horror, but also romance and fantasy.
He died when he was 59 years old.

These few facts were basically the only ones I could find on the internet about him. I did discover that he wrote a lot more books that were turned into movies, but it honestly seems like he is best known for The Phantom of the Opera. If you want a movie that took it’s screenplay and based it on Gaston’s book, than you will want to see “The Phantom of the Opera” made in 1989. I will warn you this movie is dark and twisted, but it is an amazing movie to watch.

I hope you learned something new about this amazing author!