Gaston Leroux was a French journalist and playwright. Born in Paris in 1868, he abandoned a law career to become a court reporter and theater critic; as an international correspondent, he witnessed and covered the 1905 Russian Revolution. Two years later, Leroux left journalism to focus on writing fiction. He authored dozens of novels and short stories, and is considered one of the preeminent French writers of detective fiction. His most famous work, The Phantom of the Opera, was originally serialized in 1909 and 1910. He died in 1927.