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The King in Yellow & Other Tales of the Supernatural
Robert W. Chambers's cult classic work of weird fiction and supernatural horror is now repackaged with a beautifully designed jacket by noted illustrator Malika Favre.
First published in 1895, this collection of short stories by Robert W. Chambers is widely regarded as a foundational text of macabre literature. The King in Yellow was a bestseller in its day, and was later praised by horror emeritus H.P. Lovecraft. Its ten stories include "The Yellow Sign," considered by many critics to be one of the greatest tales of horror in the English language.
First published in 1895, this collection of short stories by Robert W. Chambers is widely regarded as a foundational text of macabre literature. The King in Yellow was a bestseller in its day, and was later praised by horror emeritus H.P. Lovecraft. Its ten stories include "The Yellow Sign," considered by many critics to be one of the greatest tales of horror in the English language.
464 pages, Hardcover
Published September 2, 2025
12 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Robert W. Chambers
866 books577 followersRobert 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.
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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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
dnf
October 22, 2025DNF, but for the stories I had little or no interest in devoting time to. THE KING IN YELLOW, a series of (very) loosely interconnected short stories, is a mixed bag. Elsewhere, "The Messenger" and "The Harbor-Master" are great.
First got wind of this as an inspiration, in part, to TRUE DETECTIVE S1 + Chambers as a pre-Lovecraft sensation. Chambers is a fabulous writer, but tempering one's expectations is vital here: he's more like an eerie Doyle than Lovecraft—though coastal sea-men do appear here.
THE KING IN YELLOW itself is a rickety anthology, with quite a number of duds—some arguably not connected to the larger story at all. "In the Court of the Dragon" + "The Repairer of Reputations" + "The Mask" + "The Yellow Sign" are splendid though when read as standalones.
Still, the point the King in Yellow is more a presence/miasma than entity (though he—it—does seem to manifest as one in a story or two) is inspiring, especially as the in-universe "The King in Yellow" play rather seems to operate like RINGU (and other similar curse stories) does: read/watch it=madness/death. May return to later?
First got wind of this as an inspiration, in part, to TRUE DETECTIVE S1 + Chambers as a pre-Lovecraft sensation. Chambers is a fabulous writer, but tempering one's expectations is vital here: he's more like an eerie Doyle than Lovecraft—though coastal sea-men do appear here.
THE KING IN YELLOW itself is a rickety anthology, with quite a number of duds—some arguably not connected to the larger story at all. "In the Court of the Dragon" + "The Repairer of Reputations" + "The Mask" + "The Yellow Sign" are splendid though when read as standalones.
Still, the point the King in Yellow is more a presence/miasma than entity (though he—it—does seem to manifest as one in a story or two) is inspiring, especially as the in-universe "The King in Yellow" play rather seems to operate like RINGU (and other similar curse stories) does: read/watch it=madness/death. May return to later?
November 21, 2025
I struggled through this. Classical literature is hit and miss for me, and this one was a miss.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews