= Robert_W._Chambers =

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= Robert_W._Chambers =
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Introduction
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Robert William Chambers (May 26, 1865 - December 16, 1933) was an
American artist and fiction writer, best known for his book of short
stories titled 'The King in Yellow', published in 1895.

Early life
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Chambers was born in Brooklyn, New York, to William P. Chambers
(1827-1911), a corporate and bankruptcy lawyer, and Caroline Smith
Boughton (1842-1913). His parents met when his mother was twelve years
old and William P. was interning with her father, Joseph Boughton, a
prominent corporate lawyer. Eventually the two formed the law firm of
Chambers and Boughton which continued to prosper even after Joseph's
death in 1861. Robert Chambers's great-grandfather, William Chambers
(birth unknown), a lieutenant in the British Royal Navy, was married
to Amelia Saunders (1765-1822), a great-granddaughter of Tobias
Saunders of Westerly, Rhode Island. The couple moved from Westerly to
Greenfield, Massachusetts, and then to Galway, New York, where their
son, also named William Chambers (1798-1874), was born. The second
William graduated from Union College at the age of 18, and then went
to a college in Boston, where he studied medicine. Upon graduating, he
and his wife, Eliza P. Allen (1793-1880), a direct descendant of Roger
Williams, the founder of Providence, Rhode Island, were among the
first settlers of Broadalbin, New York. His brother was the architect
Walter Boughton Chambers.

Chambers was first educated at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, and
then entered the Art Students' League at around the age of twenty,
where the artist Charles Dana Gibson was a fellow student. Chambers
studied in Paris at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian
from 1886 to 1893, and his work was displayed at the Salon as early as
1889.

Career
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On his return to New York, he succeeded in selling his illustrations
to 'Life', 'Truth', and 'Vogue' magazines. Then, for reasons unclear,
he devoted his time to writing, producing his first novel, 'In the
Quarter', written in 1887 in Munich. His most famous effort is 'The
King in Yellow', a collection of short stories published in 1895. This
included several famous weird short stories that are connected by the
theme of a fictitious drama of the same title, which drives those who
read it insane. E. F. Bleiler described 'The King in Yellow' as one of
the most important works of American supernatural fiction. The story
was also strongly admired by H. P. Lovecraft and his circle.

Chambers returned to the weird genre in his later short story
collections 'The Maker of Moons', 'The Mystery of Choice' and 'The
Tree of Heaven', but none matched the success or acclaim of 'The King
in Yellow'. Some of Chambers's work contains elements of science
fiction, such as 'In Search of the Unknown' (1904) and 'Police!!!'
(1915), about a zoologist who encounters monsters. Lovecraft expressed
admiration for Chambers's story "The Harbor Master" (from 'In Search
of the Unknown') which probably influenced "The Shadow Over Innsmouth"
(1931).

Chambers's main work of historical fiction was a series of novels set
during the Franco-Prussian War. These novels were 'The Red Republic'
(1895, centring on the Paris Commune), 'Lorraine' (1898), 'Ashes of
Empire' (1898) and 'Maids of Paradise' (1903). Chambers wrote 'Special
Messenger' (1909), 'Ailsa Paige' (1910) and 'Whistling Cat' (1932),
novels set during the American Civil War. Chambers also wrote
'Cardigan' (1901), a historical novel for younger readers, set at the
outbreak of the American Revolution. Chambers later turned to writing
romantic fiction to earn a living. According to some estimates,
Chambers had one of the most successful literary careers of his
period, his later novels selling well and a handful achieving
best-seller status. Chambers' romance novels often featured intimate
relationships between "caddish" men and sexually willing women,
resulting in some reviewers accusing Chambers' works of promoting
"immorality." Many of his works were also serialised in magazines.

His novel 'The Man They Hanged' was about Captain Kidd, and argued
that Kidd was not a pirate but had been made a scapegoat by the
British government.

During World War I, Chambers wrote war adventure novels and war
stories, some of which showed a strong return to his old weird style,
such as "Marooned" in 'Barbarians' (1917). After 1924 he devoted
himself solely to writing historical fiction.

Chambers for several years made Broadalbin, New York, his summer home.
Some of his novels touch upon colonial life in Broadalbin and
Johnstown.

Personal life
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On July 12, 1898, he married Elsa (Elsie) Vaughn Moller (1872-1939).
They had a son, Robert Edward Stuart Chambers (1899-1955) (who
sometimes used the name Robert Husted Chambers).

Death
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Robert W. Chambers died on December 16, 1933, three days after
undergoing intestinal surgery.

Criticism and legacy
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H. P. Lovecraft said of Chambers in a letter to Clark Ashton Smith:

Though Chambers largely abandoned supernatural themes in his later
works, only his early weird fiction remained in print through most of
the twentieth century thanks in part to Lovecraft's inclusion of them
in the critical study "Supernatural Horror in Literature".

Frederic Taber Cooper commented:

In an overview of Chambers' historical fiction, Wendy Bousfield stated
that the historical novel 'Cardigan' was "Chambers' most highly
praised historical novel" during his lifetime. Bousfield also argued
that much of Chambers' historical fiction was marred by poorly written
characters and "insensitive humor at the expense of ethnic types".
Bousfield also wrote that "Chambers' trivializing of human
relationships is regrettable, since his recreation of period details
of dress and daily life is vivid and historically accurate."

Critical studies of Chambers's horror and fantasy work include Lee
Weinstein's essay in 'Supernatural Fiction Writers', Brian
Stableford's essay in the
'St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers' and a chapter in
S. T. Joshi's book 'The Evolution of the Weird Tale' (2004).

Chambers's novel 'The Tracer of Lost Persons' was adapted into a
long-running (1937-54) radio crime drama, 'Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost
Persons', by soap opera producers Frank and Anne Hummert.

Chambers's 'The King in Yellow' has inspired many modern authors,
including Karl Edward Wagner, Joseph S. Pulver, Lin Carter, James
Blish, Nic Pizzolatto, Michael Cisco, Stephen King, Ann K. Schwader,
Robert M. Price, Galad Elflandsson and Charles Stross.

Novels and story collections
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* 'In the Quarter' (1894)
* 'The King in Yellow' (1895) - short stories
* 'The Red Republic' (1895)
* 'The Maker of Moons' (1896) - short stories
* 'A King and A Few Dukes' (1896)
* 'With the Band' (1896)
* 'The Mystery of Choice' (1897) - short stories
* 'Lorraine' (1898)
* 'Ashes of Empire' (1898)
* 'The Haunts of Men' (1898) - short stories
* 'Outsiders' (1899)
* 'The Cambric Mask' (1899)
* 'The Conspirators' (1899)
* 'Cardigan' (1901)
* 'The Maid-at-Arms' (1902)
* 'The Maids of Paradise' (1903)
* 'In Search of the Unknown' (1904)
* 'A Young Man in a Hurry' (1904) - short stories
* 'The Reckoning' (1905)
* 'Iole' (1905)
* 'The Tracer of Lost Persons' (1906)
* 'The Fighting Chance' (1906)
* 'The Tree of Heaven' (1907) - short stories
* 'The Younger Set' (1907)
* 'Some Ladies in Haste' (1908)
* 'The Firing Line' (1908)
* 'Special Messenger' (1909)
* 'The Danger Mark' (1909)
* 'The Green Mouse' (1910)
* 'Ailsa Paige' (1910)
* 'The Common Law' (1911)
* 'The Adventures of a Modest Man' (1911)
* 'Blue-Bird Weather' (1912)
* 'The Streets of Ascalon' (1912)
* 'The Japonette' (1912) - serialized in 'Cosmopolitan' under the
title 'The Turning Point'
* 'The Gay Rebellion' (1913)
* 'The Business of Life' (1913)
* 'Quick Action' (1914)
* 'The Hidden Children' (1914)
* 'Anne's Bridge' (1914)
* 'Between Friends' (1914)
* 'Who Goes There!' (1915)
* 'Athalie' (1915)
* 'Police!!!' (1915) - short stories
* 'The Girl Philippa' (1916)
* 'The Better Man' (1916) - short stories
* 'The Dark Star' (1917)
* 'Barbarians' (1917)
* 'The Laughing Girl' (1918)
* 'The Restless Sex' (1918)
* 'The Moonlit Way' (1919)
* 'In Secret' (1919)
* 'The Crimson Tide' (1919)
* 'A Story of Primitive Love' (1920)
* 'The Slayer of Souls' (1920)
* 'The Little Red Foot' (1920)
* 'Eris' (1922)
* 'The Flaming Jewel' (1922)
* 'The Talkers' (1923)
* 'The Hi-Jackers' (1923)
* 'America; or, The Sacrifice' (1924)
* 'The Mystery Lady' (1925)
* 'Marie Halkett' (1925 UK, 1937 US)
* 'The Girl in Golden Rags' (1925 UK, 1936 US)
* 'The Man They Hanged' (1926)
* 'The Drums of Aulone' (1927)
* 'The Gold Chase' (1927)
* 'The Sun Hawk' (1928)
* 'The Rogue's Moon' (1928)
* 'The Happy Parrot' (1929)
* 'The Painted Minx' (1930)
* 'The Rake and the Hussy' (1930)
* 'War Paint and Rouge' (1931)
* 'Gitana' (1931)
* 'Whistling Cat' (1932)
* 'Whatever Love Is' (1933)
* 'Secret Service Operator 13' (1934) - short stories published in
'Cosmopolitan' between 1930 and 1932
* 'The Young Man's Girl' (1934) - serialized in 'The Delineator', 1933
* 'Love and the Lieutenant' (1935) - serialized in 'The Woman's Home
Companion', 1934
* 'Beating Wings' (1936) - serialized in 'McCall's', 1927
* 'The Fifth Horseman' (1937) - serialized in 'McCall's', 1930
* 'Smoke of Battle' (1938) - this novel was possibly finished by
Rupert Hughes.

Children's books
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* 'Outdoorland' (1902). Illustrated by Reginald Bathurst Birch
* 'Orchard-Land' (1903). Illustrated by Reginald Bathurst Birch
* 'River-Land' (1904). Illustrated by Elizabeth S. Green
* 'Forest-Land' (1905). Illustrated by Emily Benson Knipe
* 'Mountain-Land' (1906). Illustrated by Frederick Richardson &
Walter King Stone
* 'Garden-Land' (1907). Illustrated by Harrison Cady
* 'The Happy Parrot' (1931). Illustrated by Norman Price

Reprint collections
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* 'The King in Yellow and Other Horror Stories', edited by E. F.
Bleiler, Dover 1970
* 'The Yellow Sign and Other Stories', edited by S.T. Joshi, Chaosium
2004

Anthologies containing reprinted work by Robert W. Chambers
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* 'Sporting Blood: The Great Sports Detective Stories', edited by
Ellery Queen, Little, Brown and Company, 1942 - contains "The Purple
Emperor"
* 'Sleep No More', edited by August Derleth, Rinehart & Company,
1944 - contains "The Yellow Sign"
* 'The Faded Banners', edited by Eric Solomon, T. Yoseloff, 1960 -
contains "Pickets"
* 'The Dark Descent', edited by David G. Hartwell, Tor, 1987 -
contains "The Repairer of Reputations"
* 'The Horror Hall of Fame', edited by Robert Silverberg and Martin H.
Greenberg, Carroll & Graf, 1991 - contains "The Yellow Sign"
* 'The Hastur Cycle', edited by Robert M. Price, Chaosium, 1993 -
contains "The Repairer of Reputations" and "The Yellow Sign"
* 'Detection by Gaslight', edited by Douglas G. Greene, Dover
Publications, 1997 - contains "The Purple Emperor"
* 'The Innsmouth Cycle', edited by Robert M. Price, Chaosium, 1998 -
contains "The Harbor-Master" (the first five chapters of 'In Search of
the Unknown')
* 'American Supernatural Tales', edited by S. T. Joshi, Penguin
Classics, 2007 - contains "The Yellow Sign"
* 'The Tindalos Cycle', edited by Robert M. Price, Hippocampus Press,
2010 - contains "The Maker of Moons"

Movies
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* 'The Reckoning' (1908), silent short film adaptation of novel.
Directed by D. W. Griffith
* 'The Common Law' (1916), silent film adaptation of novel. Directed
by Albert Capellani
* ' (1916), silent film adaptation of novel.
* 'The Girl Philippa' (1917), silent film adaptation of novel.
Directed by S. Rankin Drew
* 'The Hidden Children' (1917), silent film adaptation of novel.
Directed by Oscar Apfel
* 'The Fettered Woman' (1917), silent film adaptation of 'Anne's
Bridge'. Directed by Tom Terriss
* ' (1917), silent film adaptation of novel. Directed by William P. S.
Earle
* 'The Woman Between Friends' (1918), silent film adaptation of
'Between Friends'. Directed by Tom Terriss
* ' (1918), silent film adaptation of novel. Directed by Tom Terriss
* 'The Danger Mark' (1918), silent film adaptation of novel. Directed
by Hugh Ford
* 'The Girl of Today' (1918), silent film adaptation of short story.
Directed by John S. Robertson
* 'The Cambric Mask' (1919), silent film adaptation of novel. Directed
by Tom Terriss
* 'The Firing Line' (1919), silent film adaptation of novel. Directed
by Charles Maigne
* 'The Dark Star' (1919), silent film adaptation of novel. Directed by
Allan Dwan
* 'The Black Secret' (1919), silent film serial adaptation of 'In
Secret'. Directed by George B. Seitz
* 'Even as Eve' (1920), silent film adaptation of short story "The
Shining Band". Directed by Chester De Vonde and B. A. Rolfe
* 'The Turning Point' (1920), silent film adaptation of 'The
Japonette'. Directed by J. A. Barry
* 'The Fighting Chance' (1920), silent film adaptation of novel.
Directed by Charles Maigne
* 'The Restless Sex' (1920), silent film adaptation of novel. Directed
by Leon D'Usseau and Robert Z. Leonard
* 'Unseen Forces' (1920), silent film adaptation of 'Athalie'.
Directed by Sidney A. Franklin
* 'Cardigan' (1922), silent film adaptation of novel. Screenplay by
Chambers. Directed by John W. Noble
* 'The Common Law' (1923), silent film adaptation of novel. Directed
by George Archainbaud
* 'America' (1924), silent film adaptation of 'The Reckoning'.
Screenplay by Chambers. Directed by D. W. Griffith
* 'Between Friends' (1924), silent film adaptation of novel. Directed
by J. Stuart Blackton
* 'The Common Law' (1931), film adaptation of novel. Directed by Paul
L. Stein
* 'Operator 13' (1934), film adaptation of short stories from 'Secret
Service Operator 13'. Directed by Richard Boleslawski
* 'A Time Out of War' (1954), short film adaptation of short story
"Pickets". Directed by Denis Sanders
* 'The Yellow Sign' (2001), film adaptation of short story. Directed
by Aaron Vanek

External links
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*
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*
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*
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*
[https://archives-manuscripts.dartmouth.edu/repositories/2/resources/1507
'Operator 13' Manuscript] at Dartmouth College Library

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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W._Chambers