The King in Yellow: who's who, timeline and places
Everyone in The King in Yellow, what happens when, and where, without spoilers: tell us how far you have read and we show only what you already know.
- Hildred CastaigneHildred Castaigne claims imperial succession and consults Mr. Wilde about his supposed rights.First seen in part 1
- Mr. WildeMr. Wilde runs a reputation business and supports Hildred’s plans for imperial power.First seen in part 1
- AlecAlec is Boris’s friend and the person Geneviève secretly loves.First seen in part 2
- Mr. ScottMr. Scott is a painter who shares disturbing dreams and a growing attachment with Tessie.First seen in part 4
- Tessie ReardonTessie Reardon dreams of a hearse and gives Scott an onyx clasp she finds.First seen in part 4
- PhilipPhilip is a stranger who loses his way on the moors and accepts Jeanne’s hospitality.First seen in part 5
- Jeanne d’YsJeanne d’Ys offers Philip shelter and describes her isolated upbringing.First seen in part 5
- SevernSevern welcomes a starving cat into his studio and searches for her mistress.First seen in part 7
- Jack TrentJack Trent helps hungry friends during a siege despite Sylvia’s fear of the shells.First seen in part 8
- HastingsHastings is a homesick newcomer living in a respectable Paris boardinghouse.First seen in part 9
- SelbySelby enters Parisian student life and secretly sends Rue Barrée a rosebush.First seen in part 10
- Part 1
Hildred witnesses the opening of a government suicide chamber.
- Part 1
Mr. Wilde discusses Hildred’s supposed succession rights and plans for mass support.
- Part 2
Boris shows Alec a liquid that turns living things into marble.
- Part 2
Geneviève enters the solution, Boris kills himself, and restored animals later suggest that her transformation can reverse.
- Part 3
A reader disturbed by The King in Yellow seeks peace in church but experiences pursuit by the organist.
- Part 4
Scott and Tessie share nightmares, grow romantically attached, and discover a sinister mark on her gift.
- Part 4
After Scott and Tessie read the forbidden book, the watchman enters; Tessie dies and Scott lies dying.
- Part 5
After accepting Jeanne’s hospitality and suffering a viper bite, Philip awakens beside ruins and finds her memorial.
- Part 6
The speaker encounters figures who challenge his understanding of memory, fate, truth, beauty, and love.
- Part 7
Severn feeds a starving cat, finds her mistress Sylvia dead, and stays with the animal through the night.
- Part 8
Jack Trent gives money to hungry friends during the siege and returns to a birthday dinner.
- Part 9
Clifford introduces Hastings to Valentine, but Hastings stops him from explaining her circumstances.
- Part 10
Selby secretly buys Rue Barrée a rosebush and grows jealous when she smiles at Clifford.
- Part 10
After Rue Barrée refuses Clifford’s proposal, Selby climbs to her room and leaves carrying a rose she kisses.
Hidden until you have read that far.
- ParisParis is the city where Hastings settles into a boardinghouse and meets new acquaintances.First seen in part 9
- Luxembourg GardensThe Luxembourg Gardens are where Clifford introduces Hastings to Valentine Tissot.First seen in part 9
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