Welcome back to the The Phantom of the Opera.  We are half way through Chapter 4.  Two new managers, Mr Richard and Mr Montcharmin, are trying to get to the bottom of the case of the Opera Ghost.  They don’t believe that he exists, but that he is the joke of the prior managers.

After hearing about the memorandum requirement to keep Box Five available for the Opera Ghost, they have called for the lady who maintains and services the private boxes to find out more.

It’s time for Mme Giry, to come onto the scene and tell the managers, and us of her experiences with the Opera Ghost.  Information is power and the managers are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, and expose it for what it is, just rumours and Chinese whispers.

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It seems as though the Opera Ghost is not afraid to be seen amid the masses, attending both the dancers farewell of and the farewell dinner for Mm Debienne and Poligny.

These two outgoing managers share the two red additions to their book of memorandum, where the Opera Ghost is to be paid 20,000 francs a month and is to have complete use of Box five during every performance.

The incoming managers, Mm Richard and Montcharmin, think that this is purely bad management and that the box should be sold to subscription.

We are now going to read chapter 4: Box Five.

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Yesterday, we were introduced to two brothers.  The Comte de Chagny and his younger brother Raoul.  Phillipe (the comte) is infatuated with Sorelli, the dancer, and Raoul is in love with “the new margarita”, Christine Daae.  Raoul suspects that there is another man in Christines life, but was unable to get the proof.

All this is happening on the night of the retirement party for M. Debienne and M. Poligny.

Let’s now read Chapter 3 - The Mysterious Reason

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The girls of the corps de ballet, are terrified of the Opera Ghost.  There seems to be a bit of confusion as to exactly what the Opera Ghost is.  Mr Buquet says he is a skeletal figure in dress clothes, Pampin, the fireman, says that it is a bodyless ball of fire, and Giry’s mother says the ghost is resident in Box number five.

Just when we are about to think that they are all just a bumbling bunch of babies, little Jammes’ mother comes in and says that Mr Buquet has been found hung.

I can’t wait to see how this progresses in Chapter 2:  The New Margarita

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After reading the prologue, where our author, Gaston Leroux, lays out his proof as to why the Opera Ghost is real.  We know that we are reading a novel, but he has carefully woven his tale around some mysterious events which had happened in Paris some forty years before, and we aren’t going to try to work out what is real and what isn’t.

We are about to begin Chapter One:  Is it the Ghost?

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Much of my intent in publishing these stories is to read those books which have shaped our culture, that most people at least know the title of, yet have probably never read.

Todays book falls beautifully into that category.  The book I have chosen for our next study is “The Phantom of the Opera”.  Most of us are aware of the musical “The Phantom of the Opera” by Andrew Lloyd Webber.  What is lesser know is that this story was brought to life by a French Writer – Gaston Leroux.  The story was published in serialized form in 1909/1910 and as a novel in 1911.

The real-life mystery of a ghost in the Paris Garnier Opera House, was a possibility that fascinated Gaston Leroux.  He proceeded to present it as a crime mystery drama.  The book was originally written in French, but we will be reading an English Translation.

Today, we will enter into our journey, by reading the Prologue – “In which the author of this singular work informs the reader how he acquired the certainty that the opera ghost really existed”

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This is it!  Today we are going to read the last 3 chapters of the Book “The Time Machine” by HG Wells.  The Time Traveller has been into the future, almost to its end.  He had an adventure with the Eloi and the Morlocks that sadly ended with the loss of Weena.

Let’s read Chapter 15, - The Time Traveller Returns, Chapter 16 – After the story and the Epilogue.

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The trip back to the White Sphinx didn’t exactly go to plan.  The Time Traveller found himself in the middle of the dark wood as it burned bright with fire.  So bright that it had blinded the Morlocks, which was good.  What was bad, was that Weena is now lost, after she fainted and could not be revived.  The box of matches had been taken from him, although there is still a few loose matches in his pocket.  

The time traveller has the bar of iron and is determined to seek his time machine in the base of the White Sphinx.

It is with this in mind that we have Chapter 13, entitled The Trap of the White Sphinx and chapter 14, The Further Vision.

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Armed with a bar of iron, a box of matches, and some camphor, the time traveller is intent on travelling back to the White Sphinx and attempting to retrieve the Time Machine.  This would require one night of sleeping outside, as it did on his arrival to the Palace of Green Porcelain.  Now, he feels armed, and prepared for the next challenge.

Today we will be reading Chapter 12 – In the Darkness.

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Today we are with our friend, the time traveller, as he finally reaches the Palace of Green Porcelain, or so he calls it.  He is hoping that this will provide a safe base from which to mount up a defence against the Morlocks, and ultimately seize back the time machine.  He then intends on returning back to his own time with Weena.

Let’s read Chapter 11 – The Palace of Green Porcelain

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