The King in Yellow: Weird & Supernatural Tales

The King in Yellow is a book of short stories named after a play with the same title which recurs as a motif through some of the stories. The book features highly esteemed weird stories and supernatural tales. Table of Contents: "The Repairer of Reputations" – A weird story of egotism and paranoia which carries the imagery of the book's title. "The Mask" – A dream story of art, love, and uncanny science. "In the Court of the Dragon" – A man is pursued by a sinister church organist who is after his soul. "The Yellow Sign" – An artist is troubled by a sinister churchyard watchman who resembles a coffin worm. "The Demoiselle d'Ys" – A ghost story. "The Prophets' Paradise" – A sequence of eerie prose poems that develop the style and theme of a quote from the fictional play The King in Yellow which introduces "The Mask". "The Street of the Four Winds" – An atmospheric tale of an artist in Paris who is drawn to a neighbor's room by a cat; the story ends with a macabre touch. "The Street of the First Shell" – A war story set in the Paris Siege of 1870. "The Street of Our Lady of the Fields" – Romantic American bohemians in Paris. "Rue Barrée" – Romantic American bohemians in Paris, with a discordant ending that playfully reflects some of the tone of the first story.

From the Back Cover

A book of short stories, The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers, embodies classic elements of mystery and horror as well as romance and fantasy. Inspired by a fictional play of the same name, the first four entries are characterized by supernatural elements and a threat of impending doom.

About the Author

Robert William Chambers (1865-1933) was a Brooklyn-born artist and writer best known for producing supernatural, horror and weird tales. He published his first novel, In the Quarter in 1894 but didn’t receive major recognition until 1895 with a collection of short stories called The King in Yellow. Despite entries in other genres, such as romance and historical fiction, Chambers’ most acclaimed works were Gothic in nature. His eerie tales would go on to inspire a generation of writers including H.P. Lovecraft.

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