The Tale Behind the Mask

Phantom (Susan Kay, 1990)

Only some days after I started trying to learn everything about the Phantom of the Opera from both the Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical and the novel by Gaston Leroux that I discovered the spin-off novel written by Susan Kay titled Phantom.

Kay's novel followed the story of the terrible musical genius, from being born as Erik to a middle-class family in the French village of Boscherville, to being the fearsome Opera Ghost who made the cellar of the Paris Opera House his lair. Using the main character and the different points-of-view of the other characters who managed to interact and live with Erik throughout his seemingly accursed life, Kay laid the foundation of the Phantom's genius and  motives. She insterspersed the background from the canon novel, with thoroughly researched factual events and places to serve as the background of the well-loved gothic classic of Leroux. The novel traced Erik's education from childhood, to his travels within Europe and beyond the Mediterranean, learning various trades and skills, and fighting his way for survival and affection.

I have always loved the Leroux classic, my copy almost battered with constant re-reading. But Susan Kay's Phantom is a truly outstanding addition to the ageless tale of the Opera Ghost. Kay managed to fill in the gaps in the novel and had developed a firm foundation of the characters. The novel is filled with vivid imageries of the grotesqueness of Erik from birth, the Gyspy caravan he belonged to for a time, his apprenticeship to an Italian stonemason, his traversals in the fairs of Russia, his adventures in the exotic land of Persia, his wanderings in Europe and finally back to France, where he met his boon and bane, the young and beautiful chanteuse Christine Daaé.

There was no shortage of philosophical meanderings as well as allusions to religion. The characters Kay created to surround Erik were truly sound and affective at some points. He was given a human face, to put it simply. He was given the chance to care for people and be cared-for in turn. Whereas Leroux's Phantom was a fearsome monster, Kay "redeemed" Erik through his achievements in the world of music, art, and even architecture.

The novel as a whole is dark, at times witty and emotive. After the last page, Kay's creation of Erik still haunts me, along with the other characters and scenes that sprang forth from the pages, particularly the development of Daroga from the Leroux novel (which the musical left out), and the introduction of the Italian master stonemason, Signor Giovanni. ("There was so much beauty in your soul, Erik, so much beauty that I fear now, because of one old man's folly, will never see the light of day.") It is a brilliant albeit strongly imaginative take on The Phantom of the Opera, and I could see that my copy of Phantom, despite being electronic, will be re-read as much as the original Leroux has been.