6 h 36 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
On Brittany’s lonely roads, the ordinary world grows thin, and every choice draws you closer to the unknown.
In The Mystery of Choice, Robert W. Chambers gathers weird and supernatural tales where something older presses against everyday life. Several stories lead you through Brittany’s moors, villages and coasts. Old beliefs linger close to the surface, and people face a strange pull without knowing how far they should follow it.
Chambers brings an artist’s eye to light, landscape and the odd corners of French life. Fear arrives slowly, through mood and suggestion rather than clear explanations. Choice holds these tales together: a decision matters, yet it is rarely simple or fully free. Art and romance add color to the gathering unease.
What you’ll discover
- A landscape of unease Walk among stone crosses, lonely roads and coastal places where the past seems close.
- Fear in quiet moments Feel dread take shape through restraint, as suggestion makes ordinary surroundings seem less certain.
- Choices without clear answers Follow people whose decisions matter, even when their freedom to choose remains uncertain.
- An artist’s eye Discover how light and landscape deepen the atmosphere of these strange encounters.
- Romance beside the uncanny Find art and romance woven into tales where the supernatural presses against familiar life.
Who will love it
Readers who love ghost stories, sea-swept landscapes, folklore and wildly inventive plots will feel at home. Fans of romance mixed with the uncanny will enjoy these vivid tales, each with its own mood.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A butterfly feud hides a cruel home
- A murder and one muddy clue
- Beetles, skulls and a list from 1760
- A skull that will not stay put
- The moth and the fear of death
- A girl in Aspen and a fall from a cliff
- Love, thrift and shadows in Brittany
- A grieving man and a fugitive
- A comic monster hunt and what the book holds
Who’s who
- Richard DarrelAn American painter in Brittany who loves Lys and looks for sensible explanations, even as the uncanny closes in.
- Lys TrevecDarrel's young Breton wife, a descendant of a cursed family, who holds to her faith and fears for her husband.
- The Purple EmperorA pigheaded mayor and butterfly collector who bullies his niece and burns with envy of his rival.
- Max FortinA nervous chemist from Quimperlé who tests blood and knows about butterfly bait, and believes in the old stories despite his training.
- Jack and SweetheartA young painter and his bride, whose happiness in Paris and Brittany is shadowed by a strange gift of time.
- Bud KentA gum hunter on a wooded coast who escapes a lynching and paddles toward a fog-hidden island called Grief.
- Daisy HolroydA quick-witted young woman who helps her professor father hunt a drifting sea reptile and teases a poet.
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The Mystery of Choice
by Robert W. Chambers · 1897
A skull rolls uphill on a Breton cliff, and a young American husband tries hard not to believe in curses.
Easy read5–10 hours to readEnglish
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In short
A skull rolls uphill on a Breton cliff, and a cheerful American painter insists it is only a stone. The Mystery of Choice is a collection by Robert W. Chambers, with seven tales of ghosts, curses, love and strange science.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A butterfly feud hides a cruel home
The first tale, The Purple Emperor, opens beside a Breton stream. An American painter named Darrel tries to catch a sea trout while a rival angler argues about flies. That rival is Joseph Marie Gloanec, called the Purple Emperor after the one rare butterfly he caught in the region.
The village of St. Gildas is built on small jealousies. The Purple Emperor hates the Red Admiral, a wizened collector who once dyed a common butterfly to fool a buyer. He also hates Darrel, and he bullies his gentle niece Lys Trevec, who poses for the painter.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 6 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1897
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 15 min
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Chambers, Robert W. The Mystery of Choice. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mystery-of-choice.
Chambers, R. W. (2026). The mystery of choice. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mystery-of-choice (Original work published 1897)
Chambers, Robert W. The Mystery of Choice. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mystery-of-choice.
@book{chambers2026mystery,
author = {Chambers, Robert W.},
title = {The Mystery of Choice},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-mystery-of-choice},
note = {First published 1897}
}
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What is The Mystery of Choice about?
It is a collection of seven tales by Robert W. Chambers. Most mix love with ghosts, curses and strange science, and several are set in the Breton village of St. Gildas. One is a comic monster hunt on Long Island.
Who is the Black Priest in The Messenger?
He is Abbé Sorgue, a priest shot as a traitor in 1760 after betraying a fort to the English. In his own blood he cursed a Breton woman named Marie Trevec and all her descendants.
What does the white shadow mean in the story?
In The White Shadow, a shadow whiter than snow marks the lovers as living in a magic stretch of time. The text calls it the shadow of the soul.
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
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