Barbarians

Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William), 1865-1933Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 338K words
Chapters: 34

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Barbarians by Robert W. ChambersAuthor: Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William), 1865-1933,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 27, 2008

Editor's review

Barbarians is a novel by the American writer Robert W. Chambers, best known for strange and romantic works such as The King in Yellow; this book leans more toward a novel of social manners and a gallery of characters. Built around a group of sharply individualized figures, it sketches the life of fashionable society in a light tone, weaving in misunderstandings, romance, and dramatic turns that display the author's skill as a storyteller. Its value lies in showing readers another side of Chambers beyond the strange: a fine eye for everyday social life and a gentle irony. The prose flows smoothly and the dialogue is lively, making it a good sample of early twentieth-century American popular fiction. As reading material it suits leisure reading, taken in sections on the commute or before bed; readers curious about the full range of Chambers's work can also set it against his strange tales. Note that the book was written long ago, and some social attitudes and expressions now feel dated.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy early twentieth-century American popular fiction and social themes
Fans of Chambers curious about his full range who want to read his non-strange works
Readers who prefer lively dialogue and light, comedy-of-manners plotting
Intermediate English learners looking to build reading volume in short installments

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting The King in Yellow-style strange horror
Readers of contemporary genre fiction who prefer strong plotting and suspense
Readers sensitive to old-fashioned social attitudes and gender language

Reading tips

Read with character relationships as the thread; jot down the main figures' identities and entanglements to keep the social scenes straight.
Read alongside Chambers's strange tales to appreciate how the same author handles different subjects.
No need to read every sentence closely; grasp the tone of the dialogue and the turns of plot, and read in short sessions.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in the same style as The King in Yellow?

No. The King in Yellow is known for the strange and the horrific, while Barbarians is closer to a novel of social manners, focusing on society figures and romantic entanglements in a light, gently ironic tone—good for readers who want to see another side of Chambers.

How much historical background do I need to read this book?

Not strictly. The book involves early twentieth-century American social life, and a rough sense of the era helps in understanding the characters' words and behavior, but the plot itself is fairly accessible and the main thread can be followed without background knowledge.

Is this book suitable as English extensive reading material?

It suits intermediate-level readers fairly well. There is a good deal of dialogue and the plot moves briskly, which helps keep interest; some vocabulary and expressions feel dated, so skip unfamiliar words and focus on overall comprehension.

Comments

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About the author

Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William), 1865-1933 Author

Robert W. Chambers (1865–1933) was an American novelist active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His birth and death years and nationality are relatively clear in public sources, though detailed biographical information and educational background remain limited. He was a prolific writer, with 38 works held in the collection. He is best known for the short-story collection The King in Yellow, which blends weird, horror, and supernatural elements and became an important early work of weird fiction, exerting a certain influence on later horror and fantasy writing. Beyond weird fiction, his works also span romance, historical, and popular fiction, including Athalie, The Mystery of Choice, The Hidden Children, The Common Law, The Dark Star, In Search of the Unknown, and The Slayer of Souls, demonstrating a diversity of subjects and styles. Overall, his writing is notable for atmospheric construction and narrative tension, securing him a place in popular literature and the weird tradition.