Robert William Chambers (May 26, 1865 - December 16, 1933) was an American artist and fiction writer, best known for his book of short stories entitled The King in Yellow, published in 1895.The King in Yellow is a book of mysteries and supernatural stories by American writer Robert W. Chambers. The stories inspired production of the new hit HBO series True Detective. There are ten stories, the first four of which, The Repairer of Reputations, The Mask, In the Court of the Dragon, and The Yellow Sign, mention The King in Yellow, a forbidden play which induces despair or madness in those who read it.