Robert W. Chambers 
The King in Yellow (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading) 

First published in 1895, this collection of short stories by Robert W. Chambers takes its title from
The King in Yellow, a fictional drama so laced with ‘the essence of purest poison’ that it drives anyone foolish enough to read it insane. Although suppressed by authorities shortly after publication, copies of the play continue to seduce and destroy unsuspecting men and women who fall under its spell.


 


The King in Yellow was a bestseller in its day, and was later praised by horror emeritus H.P. Lovecraft as a book that ‘really achieves notable heights of cosmic horror.’ Its ten stories include ‘The Yellow Sign, ‘ considered by many critics to be one of the greatest tales of horror in the English language.


 


This edition features an introduction and notes by horror fiction scholar S.T. Joshi.

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Robert William Chambers (1865-1933) studied art at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Academie Julian in Paris, and sold illustrations to
Life, Truth, Vogue, and other popular magazines before turning to a career as a writer. His first novel,
In the Quarter, was published in 1894. He earned lasting literary renown the following year with the publication of
The King in Yellow, an influential collection of short fiction regarded as a landmark of macabre literature. Chambers published more than seventy novels and short story collections and was one of the most successful American fiction writers of his day.