The King in Yellow

Penguin Weird Fiction: a celebration of the very best of the weird, a store of novels and tales that for generations have delighted and horrified. Shot through with an unutterable sense of mystery, paranoia and dread, the King in Yellow is a linked collection of tales that swirl around a single motif: a terrible book that prompts an obsessive madness in all who look upon its pages. From a dystopian New York to the streets of Paris, these narratives offer glimpses and hints of impossible, terrifying revelations. Who is the King Yellow? What is the Yellow Sign? And where might be that ancient and famous city, Carcosa?Combining expectation-defying horror with decadent description, The King in Yellow has proven to be one of the most durable and brilliant collections of Weird Fiction ever written, inspiring countless authors, from the mythos of H.P. Lovecraft to the fantasy world of George R.R. Martin. 'A classic . . . a fantastic collection of short stories' Guardian

Robert W. Chambers (1865 - 1933) was born in Brooklyn, New York. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Chambers enthralled readers with his strange and supernatural stories, most notably in his defining collection, The King in Yellow. Blending seamlessly elements of horror, romance, and the decadence of the fin de siècle period, with a frequent emphasis on the mysterious and the malevolent, Chambers influenced generations of writers, including H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King, and has proved to be a defining voice in Weird Fiction.