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Il riparatore di reputazioni

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Un racconto del 1895 ambientato nell’America dittatoriale del 1920. Una congiura per conquistare il mondo. Un libro proibito la cui lettura altera chiunque la intraprenda…

“Il riparatore di reputazioni” è uno dei racconti più famosi di Robert W. Chambers (1865-1933), scrittore poliedrico e raffinato amante delle arti, i cui racconti weird ebbero un’influenza diretta sulla narrativa di Lovecraft.

L’ebook comprende anche un ricco corredo di note e materiale aggiuntivo sull’autore, la sua influenza su Lovecraft, il suo posto nella letteratura gotica statunitense.

Questa nuova traduzione curata da Daniele A. Gewurz fa parte degli ebook dei Dragomanni (www.dragomanni.it).

59 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1895

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About the author

Robert W. Chambers

802 books641 followers
Robert William Chambers was an American artist and writer.

Chambers was first educated at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute,and then entered the Art Students' League at around the age of twenty, where the artist Charles Dana Gibson was his fellow student. Chambers studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, and at Académie Julian, in Paris from 1886 to 1893, and his work was displayed at the Salon as early as 1889. On his return to New York, he succeeded in selling his illustrations to Life, Truth, and Vogue magazines. Then, for reasons unclear, he devoted his time to writing, producing his first novel, In the Quarter (written in 1887 in Munich). His most famous, and perhaps most meritorious, effort is The King in Yellow, a collection of weird short stories, connected by the theme of the fictitious drama The King in Yellow, which drives those who read it insane.

Chambers returned to the weird genre in his later short story collections The Maker of Moons and The Tree of Heaven, but neither earned him such success as The King in Yellow.

Chambers later turned to writing romantic fiction to earn a living. According to some estimates, Chambers was one of the most successful literary careers of his period, his later novels selling well and a handful achieving best-seller status. Many of his works were also serialized in magazines.

After 1924 he devoted himself solely to writing historical fiction.

Chambers for several years made Broadalbin his summer home. Some of his novels touch upon colonial life in Broadalbin and Johnstown.

On July 12, 1898, he married Elsa Vaughn Moller (1882-1939). They had a son, Robert Edward Stuart Chambers (later calling himself Robert Husted Chambers) who also gained some fame as an author.

Chambers died at his home in the village of Broadalbin, New York, on December 16th 1933.


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5 stars
141 (23%)
4 stars
258 (42%)
3 stars
147 (24%)
2 stars
48 (7%)
1 star
12 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
Profile Image for Althea Ann.
2,254 reviews1,228 followers
December 21, 2014
(1895) I have the whole 'King in Yellow' collection sitting on my ereader... I really need to get around to reading it! This story is wonderfully weird - and disturbing on several levels.

Set in a future 1920, the world has made several steps toward peace and stability. (I'm not sure I like them, and I'm also not so sure the author does, either.) The introductory segment drags on a bit, reminding me a bit in style of Edward Bellamy's 'Looking Backward' (1888). Then, the story really starts...

Our narrator lets us know that after a fall from a horse, he was unjustly confined to a mental institution for some time, until his doctor realized that it was all a mistake, and released him. However, he still seems to have a strong desire for vengeance against this doctor. He also seems to harbor ambiguous feelings toward his brother, and his brother's vibrant young fiancee.
He enjoys spending time with a grotesque and mysterious man who claims to make his living 'adjusting' reputations - dealing with scandals - through a network of informers. Everyone else seems to think this man is insane. Is he? And our narrator himself? It's true that he admits to having read 'The King in Yellow' - the enigmatic work that is reputed to drive every reader mad...
Profile Image for Nikos.
69 reviews17 followers
November 23, 2017
Διηγημα απο την συλλογη ο βασιλιας με τα κιτρινα,οποτε Carcosa,The King in Yellow και μπολικη παραφροσυνη!!!!!!!!
Profile Image for Alex Bright.
Author 2 books54 followers
November 24, 2019
Rating: 3.5 rounded up to 4

That was surprisingly unsettling and entertaining! I would have given it a full four stars, but the very beginning has a substantial dose of racism, antisemitism, and xenophobia in its exposition, which nearly turned me off. Thankfully, the rest of the story doesn't really feature these attitudes as it revolves around only a small group of people. Other than that issue, I do wish more was explained about the Lethal Chamber. Maybe it'll be explained in Chambers' other novellas?
Profile Image for Ali Alizadeh.
13 reviews4 followers
June 16, 2026
جنس غیرقابل‌اعتماد بودن راوی در این قصه، من رو یاد پارانویا و توهم توطئه‌ی راوی I have no mouth and I must scream می‌اندازه.
Profile Image for R.
27 reviews
Read
August 1, 2026
a reread/study for a little project (!!!) probably the best of the four stories
Profile Image for Federico DN.
1,167 reviews4,854 followers
September 10, 2025
Boooriug!

Skimmable. Forgettable. Even Regrettable.

Ugh. Not a fan of RW Chambers, or maybe it just wasn't the time.

RTC. I suppose.

It’s public domain. You can find it HERE.

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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1895] [63p] [Horror] [Not Recommendable]
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★★☆☆☆ The Messenger [2.5]
★☆☆☆☆ The Repairer of Reputations

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¡Aburridooo!

Salteable. Olvidable. Incluso Arrepentible.

Bah. No soy fan de RW Chambers, o tal vez simplemente no era el momento.

RTC. Supongo.

Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.

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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1895] [63p] [Horror] [No Recomendable]
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Profile Image for Netanella.
4,873 reviews57 followers
May 30, 2021
. . . for I cannot forget Carcosa where black stars hang in the heavens; where the shadows of men’s thoughts lengthen in the afternoon, when the twin suns sink into the Lake of Hali; and my mind will bear forever the memory of the Pallid Mask.

"The Repairer of Reputations" was a fun read for me - the writing style was smooth and easily accessible, considering this piece was written in 1895. The story is told from the perspective of Hildred Castaigne, a young man who has recently been released from the mental asylum after having suffered from a head injury that knocked some of the ol' sense around. As the story progresses, however, the reader begins to wonder whether ol' Hildred has all of his marbles or not. There are lots of 'tells' in the story as to the unreliability of the narrator, and the ending is simply superb. Mr. Wilde and his death match with the cat, the government-sponsored Lethal Chambers, the nefarious book "The King in Yellow" - do all of these exist outside of ol' Hildred's noggin?
Profile Image for ForestNibbler.
42 reviews38 followers
April 18, 2021
The first and best story from the anthology 'The Yellow King'.
A fascinatingly unreliable narrator weaves in and out of about 4 stories at once, and may be about to be King of all the things. Batshit and fascinating.
Profile Image for Liz.
1,836 reviews13 followers
March 7, 2021
Well, that's an hour I'll never get back. What a boring slog for so little payoff. Strictly for the fans of The King In Yellow. Audible edition, read by Ian Gordon.
Profile Image for Jeff Johnston.
341 reviews1 follower
January 7, 2022
This was disturbing. A legalised suicide chamber. War on the horizon. Deterioration into madness.
Profile Image for Las lecturas de Hanshichi.
383 reviews16 followers
July 22, 2026
Relato 1/5 de el universo de El rey de amarillo.

El reparador de reputaciones es mucho más que un relato de fantasía oscura, es la puerta de entrada a un universo literario del que apenas conocemos sus contornos, pero cuya presencia se siente desde las primeras páginas.

Chambers no ofrece respuestas, sino preguntas. No explica el misterio, lo deja crecer en la imaginación del lector, del mismo modo que la obra prohibida de El Rey de Amarillo permanece siempre como una sombra inquietante.

A través de Hildred Castaigne, Chambers juega con la percepción de la realidad y nos obliga a mantener una duda constante: ¿estamos ante una mente perturbada o ante alguien que ha descubierto una verdad que los demás no pueden aceptar?

Esa incertidumbre es el verdadero motor del relato. Cada conversación, cada referencia a Carcosa, Hastur o el misterioso libro, añade nuevas incógnitas en lugar de resolver las anteriores.

Uno de los mayores logros del autor es la atmósfera que consigue crear. Con una prosa elegante, sencilla y precisa, construye una sensación de inquietud creciente sin necesidad de recurrir al exceso o lo explicito.

Lo perturbador no está en lo que muestra, sino en aquello que apenas deja entrever, en los "silencios"e insinuaciones.

La sensación constante de que lo desconocido resulta más poderoso cuando permanece oculto es muy palpable.

Este primer relato funciona como una invitación a seguir explorando el mundo de El Rey Amarillo. Al terminarlo no tenemos certezas, pero sí una gran curiosidad por descubrir qué hay detrás de esos nombres, símbolos y secretos que apenas han comenzado a revelarse. Al menos en mi caso así es.

Como Hildred Castaigne, también nosotros tenemos la sensación de que hemos empezado a comprender algo... aunque todavía no sepamos exactamente qué.

Continuamos con un relato por día el camino, a ver a donde me lleva Chambers.
Profile Image for Ibo.
4 reviews
December 5, 2023
Interesting short story with a fun gimmick(?) of a mentally unstable unreliable narrator blurring the lines between the cosmic horrors of the Hastur mythos and the delusions of a madman.
Profile Image for Matthew.
109 reviews
May 18, 2025
The king in yellow creepy as hell
30 reviews
June 30, 2026
Entretenida lectura. Muchos simbolismos que no he llegado a captar en su mayoría. Interesante para estudiar con el resto de la antología de The King in Yellow; pero por sí solo igualmente disfrutable. Interesantes conceptos para el baiteo del final. Me sentí un re boludo pero #respect al autor.
Profile Image for maple.
112 reviews
July 27, 2025
Horrifying (complimentary) genuinely a really great horror story
Horrifying (derogatory) I don’t know why I expected the guy who inspired lovecraft to be a decent person


I think I liked it more than the other classic horror short stories I read cuz I listened to the audio book while doing something else so it was easier to get over the overly long sentences and over the top descriptions
Profile Image for brianna.
71 reviews1 follower
June 24, 2026
Unfortunate but still cool that the best part about this was opening the collection right after I’d finished a rewatch of True Detective season 1 and seeing that the Introduction was written by none other than the writer of the show himself!! A cryptic and creepy little story that I sadly think owes most of its interest to the time it was written
Profile Image for luckie.
9 reviews2 followers
May 23, 2025
I loved rereading this knowing he was utterly, yet eloquently, bonkers and trying to rethink what he actually perceived was so fun. For instance, were the assisted suicide centres real or were they just subway stations? Was Mr. Wilde actually a cat (no fingers, small body with all the strength in his limbs, glowing green eyes, metal 'whiskers', the last name of 'wild')? What were the robes he dawned before being taken?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Deanna.
245 reviews
January 6, 2026
Very odd story. I have never liked dystopian novels, but this year I thought I would expand my normal favorite genres. This is the second dystopian one I have tried and still cannot get into them. I will pass on them in the future. "Reader know thyself"

This story has elements of mental illness, identity and the ability of end your life through a chamber. Too close to gas chambers for my taste. It does not go into detail, just the vague comment of someone jumping into it. I am not really sure how this really fit in the storyline. The main character has a horse accident and is diagnosed with a head injury and ends up in an asylum. He is released because it was found he was in there by mistake. But it goes downhill quickly. He becomes increasingly violent and unhinged. There are some weird references to a house cat that scratches and attacks it owner. Bizarre.
Profile Image for Autumn.
81 reviews
May 24, 2025
2.5** I picked up the king in yellow out of lovecraftian curiosity, since I had heard it was eldritch horror vibes. However, I didn't find it to be what I expected, which I think was the downfall of it. I love the idea of "the king in yellow" and a play that drives people insane when they read it. I liked that you really don't know that the narrator is insane for quite a while, since everything is stated in such a matter-of-fact way. The ending was disappointing though because it felt underdeveloped. Who was the king? Who was the repairer of reputations? I'm glad the cousin didn't die (because I really thought he was going to) but overall I wasn't too impressed. The saving grace was the insane narrator, because I'm a sucker for that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Zach.
20 reviews
January 11, 2026
I found the writing style a little dated, which is to be expected, but it still made for a fun little read. The story itself was interesting, though it didn't quite hit the mark I was hoping for. I went into it expecting more of a cosmic horror style read, but it ended up being much more of a psychological thriller.

The strongest aspect was definitely the main character, who serves as the ultimate unreliable narrator and the villain of the story. While that dynamic was well done, the lack of the cosmic horror elements I was anticipating left me feeling a bit let down. It’s a decent story for what it is, but it ultimately felt more like a study in madness than the genre experience I was looking for.
Profile Image for cookie ‎𝜗ৎ.
15 reviews
March 22, 2026
𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 𝟮。𝟬𝟰 𓂃⋆。˚

𝓶eh. personally, this read was kind of boring for me. i was very determined to finish it, despite this factor, however, so i could add it to my list of books i’ve read this year, especially considering how short it is. but i just did NOT enjoy it. at all. the only part i really enjoyed was the ending, because it was the most tense and demonic scene throughout the entire novel.
i just don’t know. i respect that everyone has opinions and some may have liked this book more than others, but i can’t see the point in any of it.

“𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩!” 𓂃⋆。˚
Profile Image for Omega Locust.
22 reviews1 follower
August 22, 2024
Gonna log the stories that I read from The King in Yellow a la carte bc I don’t know if I’m gonna read the whole thing. Apparently Chambers also wrote a lot of romance lit and other more realistic works that shines through in this story. Even the supporting characters in this feel like realistic people and the dialogue is surprisingly natural. His mainstream writing background also gives him a sense of normalcy that helps underscore how much of an unbearable freak the narrator is. He really gives you a sense of how unbearable a weird lit protagonist would be to talk to in real life.
Profile Image for Danielle T.
1,589 reviews14 followers
January 2, 2025
Similar to The Lathe of Heaven, a look at the future which we've passed but was imaginative for them at the time... with a dose of unreliable narrator as well. America of the 1920s seems a dystopic utopia in the minds of this 1890s short story author, but the narrator might not have as firm a grip on the political and historical situation as we think he is.
Profile Image for Sloveneanon.
11 reviews
January 21, 2026
First short story in the King in Yellow collection. Honestly quite impressed, it's not exactly horror but it manages to push the same buttons very well. The sort of weird alternative future (the story was written in 1895 but takes place in an imagined 1920) really enhances the story as well. I'm not sure if the author intended to heighten the uneasiness of the story by having the US transform into an elitist-eugencist oligarchy or if it was genuinely supposed to be some sort of idyllic contrasting backdrop for the story, but it works very well for modern audiences.
Profile Image for Malik Hadi.
7 reviews
August 19, 2026
This is kind of my first foray into classical fiction, my first step into acknowledging the sources and origins of what caused inspirations for my favorite things in art of all time.

It was alright, historical context shows how xenophobic and horrible the colonialist used to be and to an extent still is. It was fun to read about the early 1900s and late 1890s.

The story itself? It was fun, I like unreliable narrators, but to me personally I feel like I understood everything but it was just okay at best. I hope the other 3 short stories out do this one 🙂‍↕️
6,726 reviews5 followers
July 20, 2022
Entertaining listening🎧
Anther will written British fantasy haunting horror adventure thriller novel by Robert W. Chambers about a small man who repairs the reputation of people who error for money. He lives with a cat which attacks him and kills him in the end. I would recommend the novel to read British fantasy novels. Enjoy the adventure of reading all kinds of different books and novels. 2022
Profile Image for Chris Hall.
65 reviews13 followers
June 10, 2019
Not entirely sure what to make of this yet.
The setting is a view of a possibly alternative 1920, or maybe even the date is made up.
Our only narrator is unreliable, the world they paint and the explanations they give don't line up.

Society paints him as mad, but maybe they just want to deprive him of his crown.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for William Cherico.
Author 2 books2 followers
October 28, 2024
I love the extremes Chambers goes to experiment with what makes an unreliable narrator. I normally don’t like the “it was all a dream” twist but I could be convinced that nothing in this story actually happened. I love the dystopian 1920s setting, I hope that appears in the other stories in Chambers’ Yellow Mythos.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews