The King in Yellow

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

4.4

Word count: 399K words
Chapters: 40

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.The King in Yellow by Robert W. ChambersAuthor: Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William), 1865-1933,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jul 1, 2005

Editor's review

The King in Yellow is a collection of short stories by Robert W. Chambers from the late nineteenth century, built around a fictional play said to drive its readers mad. The stories in the first half use images such as the King in Yellow and Carcosa to create an ambiguous, gloomy, unnameable atmosphere of horror; the book holds a distinctive place in the tradition of horror and supernatural fiction and has inspired related motifs in later weird fiction and popular culture. This edition is an English electronic text from Project Gutenberg, a free public-domain resource suitable as an introduction to early weird short stories and for researchers comparing the English original. Read for atmosphere, ellipsis, and suggestion rather than complete explanation; some stories are loosely structured and full of period vocabulary, requiring some patience with English.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English readers who enjoy late nineteenth-century weird and supernatural short stories
Horror fans wanting to know the origin of the King in Yellow motif
Researchers needing public-domain English texts for literary-historical comparison
Readers with English proficiency who prefer atmosphere over strong plot

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a coherent, unified novel-length plot
Beginners who struggle with English and need detailed annotations and guides
Readers who prefer fast-paced modern horror narratives

Reading tips

Read the stories directly connected to the King in Yellow first, then the rest in order to grasp the overall atmosphere.
Keep an English dictionary or notes at hand; mark unfamiliar archaic words and look them up later to avoid breaking reading rhythm.
Pause after each story to note the most striking image or suspense, making it easier to compare techniques.
If studying the motif's origins, mark passages where the King in Yellow appears and note narrative perspective as you read.

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 a novel or a short-story collection?

It is a short-story collection made up of relatively independent stories, several of which revolve around the fictional play The King in Yellow and related images; it is not a continuous novel-length narrative. The stories echo one another in atmosphere and motif rather than connecting directly in plot.

Can I read it without experience with English originals?

You can try, but some English foundation is needed. The text is a public-domain e-book with much archaic vocabulary and long sentences and lacks detailed annotations. Try one shorter story first; if comprehension is difficult, use a dictionary or a bilingual edition before deciding whether to read the whole book.

What is special about this edition?

This is a free electronic text provided by Project Gutenberg, containing the English content of Chambers's original work as a public-domain resource. It is convenient and easy to access, suitable for e-reading and text searching, but includes no modern editor's introduction or detailed notes, so readers must supply background knowledge themselves.

Do I need to read it in order?

Strict order is not necessary. The stories are relatively independent, but the opening ones are more closely tied to the title motif, so reading them first makes it easier to enter the overall atmosphere. The rest can be read by interest; returning to the beginning afterward often reveals echoes among images.

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.