8 h 8 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 8 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a play could break your mind—and its shadow could follow you into daylight?
In Robert W. Chambers’s The King in Yellow, a forbidden play links the first four stories, drawing its readers toward madness. In The Repairer of Reputations, Hildred Castaigne dreams of ruling a hidden empire in a future New York. In The Mask, Boris Yvain discovers a fluid that turns living things to stone. Beauty and ambition sit close to terror.
In The Yellow Sign, painter Scott cannot forget a church watchman’s face, while his model Tessie Reardon dreams of a hearse. Yet this collection does not stay in nightmare. The Demoiselle d’Ys leads into Breton legend, and later pieces offer prose poems and tender stories of young artists in Paris’s Latin Quarter. Dread gives way to longing, romance and a different kind of uncertainty.
What you’ll discover
- The forbidden play Follow the shadow of a text whose readers cannot trust their own minds.
- Names without answers Carcosa, Hastur and the Yellow Sign suggest a nightmare that Chambers never fully explains.
- Beauty with a cold edge Enter Boris Yvain’s Paris, where a strange discovery brings beauty close to terror.
- A painter’s gathering dread Share Scott’s unease as a watchman’s face and Tessie’s dreams disturb his world.
- Beyond the nightmare Explore Breton legend, prose poems and the tender lives of young artists in Paris.
Who will love it
Readers who love ghost stories and weird tales, enjoy dreamlike mood, and like to wander Paris with art students. A good pick for fans of cosmic horror and of romantic Bohemian fiction alike.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A Reader of the Play Plans to Seize a Crown
- A Sculptor's Liquid Turns Flowers to Marble
- An Organist Hunts One Listener Through Paris
- A Painter Notices a Soft, Pale Watchman
- A Lost Hunter Finds a Falcon Maiden
- Tiny Poems and a Cat Lead Inward
- Friends Share Their Last Food During a Siege
- Young Men Fall in Love in the Latin Quarter
- Masks and Madness Run Through Every Tale
- A Play Never Shown Haunts the Whole Book
Who’s who
- Hildred CastaigneA proud young New Yorker who has read the forbidden play and believes a golden crown is his by right.
- Mr. WildeA tiny schemer with mangled ears who repairs reputations for pay and guides Hildred toward his plan.
- AlecA young Paris painter who hides his love for Geneviève behind a mask of cheerful friendship.
- Boris YvainA gifted sculptor who has found a liquid that turns living things into marble and wants to keep it secret.
- Tessie ReardonA warm, devout artist's model who cares for the painter Scott and fears a pale man in the churchyard.
- Jeanne d'YsA falconer of the Breton moors who speaks the old French of the Middle Ages and welcomes a lost stranger.
- HastingsA kind, innocent young American in Paris who studies art and believes the best of everyone he meets.
- Valentine TissotA quick-witted Parisian girl who asks Hastings to keep her a mystery, and who fears losing his good opinion.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
The King in Yellow
by Robert W. Chambers · 1895
A banned play drives its readers mad, and a pale organist in black follows a frightened churchgoer through Paris.
Medium level5–10 hours to readItaliano
Excellent
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
A man sits in a Paris church while an organ snarls above him, and a pale stranger in black turns to stare at him with deadly hatred. Elsewhere, a young man in New York hurls a book into the fire, then snatches it from the coals.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Reader of the Play Plans to Seize a Crown
The Repairer of Reputations is set in a New York of 1920 that Chambers imagines as calm, rich and proud of itself. The narrator, Hildred Castaigne, once fell from his horse and was sent to a private asylum. He calls that a mistake and insists his mind is as sound as anyone's.
Hildred has read The King in Yellow. One glimpse of the second act sent him shaking to his room, where he read it again and again. Now he keeps a diadem of gold and diamonds in a steel safe with a time lock. His guide is Mr. Wilde, a tiny man with mangled ears who runs a trade he calls repairing reputations. Wilde has prepared a manuscript that links Hildred's family to Carcosa and the line of Hastur. Hildred believes a crown is his by right, and his cousin Louis stands in the way.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1895
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 5 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Chambers, Robert W. The King in Yellow. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-king-in-yellow.
Chambers, R. W. (2026). The King in Yellow. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-king-in-yellow (Original work published 1895)
Chambers, Robert W. The King in Yellow. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-king-in-yellow.
@book{chambers2026king,
author = {Chambers, Robert W.},
title = {The King in Yellow},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-king-in-yellow},
note = {First published 1895}
}
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The King in Yellow
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The King in Yellow about?
It is a collection of stories by Robert W. Chambers. The first four center on a forbidden play that drives readers mad. The others follow art students, lovers and friends in Paris, with a ghostly moorland romance and a few prose poems.
What is the Yellow Sign in The King in Yellow?
The Yellow Sign is a strange symbol linked to the play and its King. In The Repairer of Reputations it is sent to followers. In The Yellow Sign it appears on a black onyx clasp that belongs to no human script.
Where are Carcosa and Hastur from?
They belong to the play inside the stories. Carcosa is a dim city with black stars, twin suns and the lake of Hali. Hastur is a name tied to its royal line. Chambers only hints at them, so they stay mysterious.
The author
Robert W. Chambers
1865–1933 · American novelist and illustrator
Robert W. Chambers was an American writer whose 1895 collection The King in Yellow became a cornerstone of weird fiction, casting its influence over H.P. Lovecraft and generations of horror writers since. He was a successful popular novelist in his day, but this early work is what endures.
More by Robert W. Chambers
All 11 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
