Gaston Leroux
Gaston Leroux (May 6, 1868-April 15, 1927) was a French journalist and author of detective fiction. He began his career as a court reporter and theater critic for L'Echo de Paris. In 1905, he was present at and covered the Russian Revolution. He left journalism in 1907 and began to write fiction. After a series of mystery novels and short stories, he penned his most famous book, The Phantom of the Opera (Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, 1911).