Unmasqued

By

Colette Gale

To all the women who thought Christine

should have stayed with the Phantom

Biographer's Note

Parisians are always at a masked ball.

—Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera

Many versions of the Paris Opera House and its alleged "Phantom of the Opera" have been told in the last century and a half. Gaston Leroux's tale has often been considered the most accurate because it was based on official reports filed in Paris at the time of the events in question.

Hollywood, in its turn, has interpreted the book in different ways, taking dramatic license where and when the producers and directors wished. The most famous version, the wildly successful stage musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, subsequently adapted for film, promoted yet a different version of the story.

It was not until this author received the personal diaries of Miss Christine Daaé (and validated their authenticity) that the true story became known: the story that appears in this volume.

Initially, this author's intention was to keep the diaries private in deference to Miss Daaé's family, and that of the Chagny brothers, but upon further consideration, I came to feel that in all fairness to Christine and Erik, the truth could no longer be obscured.

For decades, as the romantic, horrific legend of the Phantom of the Opera has been told, Erik has been portrayed as a murderous villain, Christine as the helpless, manipulated ingenue, and Vicomte Raoul de Chagny as the brave, love-struck swain.