The Repairer of Reputations

by Robert W. Chambers, Lon Milo DuQuette

Master of modern occultism, Lon Milo DuQuette, (author of "Enochian Vision Magick" and "The Magick of Aleister Crowley") introduces the newest Weiser Books Collection - "The Magical Antiquarian Curiosity Shoppe." Culled from material long unavailable to the general public, DuQuette curates this essential new digital library with the eye of a scholar and the insight of an initiate.

Part I - "The Repairer of Reputations"

The year is 1895, and you've just picked up a new book describing life in New York City 25 years in the future - a future United States that is prosperous, and the Federal government has evolved into a mild military dictatorship; a future where suicide is institutionalized, and publicly funded "Lethal Chambers" are constructed in all large cities to humanely terminate the existence of those sad and unproductive citizens for whom life has become intolerable, a future in which two very determined conspirators will risk everything to place the rightful King of America on his throne. Sound like a disturbing vision? The madness has begun. This is the book that inspired H.P. Lovecraft."

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, Lovecraftian, Science Fiction, American

63 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1895

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Althea Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

(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...

[Nikos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Διηγημα απο την συλλογη ο βασιλιας με τα κιτρινα,οποτε Carcosa,The King in Yellow και μπολικη παραφροσυνη!!!!!!!!

[Alex Bright · Rating 4 out of 5]

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?

[Federico DN · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1895] [63p] [Horror] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------

★★☆☆☆ The Messenger [2.5]
★☆☆☆☆ The Repairer of Reputations

-----------------------------------------------

¡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.

-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1895] [63p] [Horror] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------

[Netanella · Rating 4 out of 5]

. . . 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?

[ForestNibbler · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Jeff Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was disturbing. A legalised suicide chamber. War on the horizon. Deterioration into madness.

[Ibo · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The king in yellow creepy as hell

[maple · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Della · Rating 5 out of 5]

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?

[Simonfletcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strange little book. Quite haunting. The King in Yellow is a fascinating, terrifying figure.

[Deanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Autumn · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Zach · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Omega Locust · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Danielle T · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Chris Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[William Cherico · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Kimalee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure how to rate this. It’s an old text that despite being some what dull manages to be creepy and oddly depressing. Not exactly a fun read more an educational endeavor into a foundational text of the horror genre.

[Cristiana · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a book that hasn't stood the test of time. The idea is interesting enough (albeit certainly not new) and so is the ending, but most of the narrative is extremely tedious and the unreliable narrator too boring to hold the reader's attention even for such a short book.

[Namrata · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dystopian setting seems unnecessary. It has no direct relation to the plot. Enjoyable short read but quite predictable.

[Fawwaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy, weird, and cool. The best thing about it is the distinctive narration style.

[Forked Radish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great for criminally insane metropolites or New Yorkers.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saw the ending coming, but the repairer is still a disturbing idea.

[Ezra · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like a much weirder cosmic Young Goodman Brown

[Coni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought there was going to be more to this story, but it a lot of set up and then over quickly.