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 Fant me de l'Op ra (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 Fant me de l'Op ra, 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.


About the Author
Caitlin G. Freeman is a longtime "phan" of The Phantom of the Opera. She is a professor in the theatre department at Point Park University's Conservatory of Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, PA. She is currently working on a labor of love of translating both the first edition and the feuilleton of Le Fantôme de l'Opéra into English. In 2014, she decided to publish her translation of "The Magic Envelope" as a standalone piece. Caitlin hopes that her translation will introduce readers to a little-known chapter in Phantom's history, and will inspire others to conduct their own research into Gaston Leroux's work.