Books

"The Phantom of the Opera" by Gaston Leroux. Mills and Boon, London. 1911 first UK edition first issue. Book in original binding. 6pp. advertisements and 32pp. publisher's catalogue for Autumn 1910 at rear, very occasional spotting, pencil inscription "File Copy" and ink inscription "please return to Curtis Brown" to front free endpaper (a little chipped), hinges cracked but firm, original black cloth lettered and decorated in white, spine rubbed, spine ends chipped, some splitting to head and foot of upper joint, corners a little worn, light marking to upper cover. Leroux's classic gothic mystery novel, in the rare black cloth. Copies are usually found in either red or black cloth bindings with the latter seemingly far more rare though without any established priority. Albert Curtis Brown (1866-1945) was a prominent literary agent who worked closed with Mills and Boon during this period.

The Phantom of the Opera, published serially in Le Gaulois from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910, and in volume form in late March 1910, is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It tells the story of a mysterious masked man living in the catacombs of the Paris Opera House and his obsessive love for the beautiful Christine Daaé.