- LEROUX, Gaston
- (1868-1927)French writer of mystery novels who remains best known for Le Fantome de l'Opera (1910; trans Alexander Texeira de Mattos as The Phantom of the Opera 1911 UK), a tale of horror filmed in 1925 (rereleased with sound 1930), 1943, 1962, 1983 (for tv), 1989 and 1990 (for tv) and used as the basis for a highly successful 1986 musical. His first novel of direct genre interest, La Double Vie de Theophraste Longuet (1904; trans anon as The Double Life 1909 US; new trans Edgar JEPSON as The Man with the BlackFeather 1912 UK), is a horror fantasy. Balaoo (1912; trans Alexander Texeira de Mattos 1913 UK) is an sf tale featuring a Missing Link in a detective role (APES AND CAVEMEN). L'Espouse de Soleil (1913; trans anon as The Bride of the Sun1915 US) ventures into LOST-WORLD territory. Le Capitaine Hyx (1920; trans Hannaford Bennett as The Amazing Adventures ofCarolus Herbert1922 US and its sequel The Veiled Prisoner (trans Hannaford Bennett 1923 UK), recount the exploits of a mysterious captain and his super-submarine in WWI. Le Machine a assassiner (1924; trans anon as The Machine to Kill 1935 US) features a ROBOT murderer. GL's use of sfmaterial was opportunistic; a fair estimate of his skill as a novelist almost certainly awaits better translations.JCOther works: Le Fauteuil hante (1911; trans anon as The Haunted Chair1931 US); Le Coeur cambriole (coll 1922; trans Hannaford Bennett as The Burgled Heart1925 UK; vt TheNew Terror 1926 US), which includes some contes cruels;La Poupee Sanglante (1924; trans anon as The Kiss That Killed 1934 US). .
Science Fiction and Fantasy Encyclopedia. Academic. 2011.