Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux was born in Paris and worked there as an author and journalist (Wikipedia). His most famous work is The Phantom of the Opera as it has been made into films and a musical.
Christine is brought up by her itinerant musician father, whose death she mourns endlessly. She achieves a singing position in the Paris Opera line, where a mysterious voice teaches her to unleash her musical potential. The voice belongs to Erik, a deformed musical genius who lives in the opera house. As Christine's singing career takes off, her childhood friend Raoul begins to court her, and he and Erik fight jealously for Christine's hand.