Plot
Part one
The story opens with an excerpt from the fictional play The King in Yellow , Act 1, Scene 2d: [1]
Camilla: You, sir, should unmask.
Stranger: Indeed?
Cassilda: Indeed it's time. We have all laid aside disguise but you.
Stranger: I wear no mask.
Camilla: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda) No mask? No mask!
In his home in Rue Sainte-Cécile, Paris, talented sculptor Boris Yvain has completed works representing figures such as the Madonna and Cupid, and is working on a representation of the Fates. Through an unusual chemical process, he has also managed to produce a mysterious liquid that turns living beings immersed in it into pure marble representations of themselves. He demonstrates the solution to his painter friend Alec in an Easter lily and a goldfish, both of which are turned into beautiful white marble sculptures with azure and rose tints.
Amidst discussions about Boris's sculptures and his reluctance to reveal this transformative secret to the world, as it would forever disrupt science and art, the dynamic between the characters becomes apparent, as there is an unspoken love triangle involving Boris, Alec, and Geneviève, Boris's lover who was also the model for his acclaimed Madonna sculpture. Geneviève's ever-changing moods and interactions hint at deeper emotions and tensions within the trio.
Part two
The second part focuses on the daily life and dynamics among Boris, Alec, Geneviève, and their mutual friend Jack Scott. Boris continues his experiments with the transformative solution, accidentally almost dunking Alec into a pool filled with it. Later, Boris and Jack leave for an art exhibition, leaving Alec to work on a project for Geneviève's boudoir.
Alec's artistic frustrations lead to a break, and he relaxes in the smoking room, eventually dozing off. He awakens to hauntingly sad music and discovers Geneviève weeping in the dark room, playing a spinet. Mistaking Alec's voice for Boris's, Geneviève, who had stumbled upon a wolf's head in the room and sprained her ankle, collapses in pain, revealing she is alone and injured. Boris and the household servants are absent, leaving Alec feeling guilty for not realizing earlier and offering assistance.
Boris and Jack are still away in the following day, and Alec, concerned for her well-being, tries to help. He tries to reassure her with a small lie about the music, prompting Geneviève's gratitude. Eventually, Alec arranges for assistance and leaves Geneviève in the care of a maid.
Part three
Boris frantically tends to Geneviève as she succumbs to a mysterious fever. While she is taken care of, Boris, in order to distract himself from distress, turns yet another goldfish into marble with the transformative solution, and then decides to do the same to a white rabbit. Alec avoids witnessing this, and instead turns himself into reading the play The King in Yellow.
Still feverish, Geneviève wakes up briefly and says Alec's name. While Alec is astonished by this, Boris tries to comfort his friend, saying "It is not your fault, Alec, don't grieve so if she loves you".
Alec hurriedly leaves, taking Jack with him, and concludes he is going to be ill as well. He enters a long-lasting period of illness, with the last thing he remembers before it being Jack saying "For Heaven's sake, doctor, what ails him, to wear a face like that?", which reminded Alec of the Pallid Mask in The King in Yellow.
Alec is drawn into a period of feverish delirium with terrifying hallucinations involving Boris, Geneviève, and motifs in The King in Yellow. He also recalls that Geneviève's words were actually "I love you, but I think I love Boris best". While he recovers, Jack takes care of him, and he repeatedly asks Jack to see Boris and Geneviève, but is never granted that request.
Before almost reaching full recovery, Alec wonders on his plans to meet Boris and Geneviève again, aiming to leave their lives forever afterward. However, Jack finally reveals that they are both dead. Alec, in a fit of rage, sinks into weeks of relapse, after which Jack, in a heartbreaking narrative, reveals what happened to their friends—Geneviève drowned in the pool after falling there under the influence of drugs, becoming a marble sculpture, and Boris shot himself in despair. Jack also tells Alec of his own meticulous actions to eradicate any trace of the transformative solution and the formula to produce it after the tragic events, as well as his work with a doctor to cover up the strange events. He then reveals Boris's will, which bequeaths everything to Geneviève, with the house and marbles left to Alec, and Jack entrusted with another property. Jack departs to fulfill Boris's wishes.
The devastating revelation leaves Alec shattered, realizing the finality of their intertwined lives and the profound tragedy that has torn them apart forever.
Part four
After inheriting Boris's house, Alec finally faces the haunting memories by returning to Rue Sainte-Cécile. However, overwhelmed by the silence and grief, he locks up the house and leaves for Constantinople, spending two years in the East trying to escape the tragedy. Yet, the memories of Boris and Geneviève keep resurfacing, eventually in letters from Jack, even though they initially avoided the subject.
Upon Jack's urgent request, Alec returns to Paris, where they spend time together, visiting Boris's resting place at the cemetery in Sèvres. However, Jack's restless dreams and inexplicable anxiety prompt him to separate temporarily. Alec decides to move into Boris's house, now his, finding solace in painting but avoiding the marble room where Geneviève's body, now a fine marble sculpture, rests.
One April afternoon, drawn by an irresistible force, Alec finally opens the sealed door to the marble room. Bathed in sunlight, he discovers Geneviève lying under the Madonna's tender gaze, with a faint warmth beneath the marble. Overwhelmed, he kisses the marble and retreats into the house.
As he sits in the conservatory reading a letter from Jack, a maid interrupts, speaking of strange occurrences—a live rabbit replacing the marble one, and live fish replacing the marble ones. Frustrated, Alec investigates, finding the marble Easter lily transformed into a fresh, fragrant flower. Suddenly understanding, he rushes back to the marble room. As the doors open, Geneviève, alive and flushed, wakes from her marble slumber, greeted by the heavenly smile of the Madonna.
The King in Yellow is a book of short stories by American writer Robert W. Chambers, first published by F. Tennyson Neely in 1895. The British first edition was published by Chatto & Windus in 1895.
Forever Amber (1944) is an historical romance novel by Kathleen Winsor set in 17th-century England. It was made into a film in 1947 by 20th Century Fox.
Maurice is a novel by E. M. Forster. A tale of homosexual love in early 20th-century England, it follows Maurice Hall from his schooldays through university and beyond. It was written in 1913–1914 and revised in 1932 as well as 1952–1960. Forster was an admirer of the poet, philosopher, socialist, and early gay rights activist Edward Carpenter and, following a visit to Carpenter's home at Millthorpe, Derbyshire in 1913, was inspired to write Maurice. The cross-class relationship between Carpenter and his working-class partner, George Merrill, presented a real-life model for that of Maurice and Alec Scudder.
Carcosa is a fictional city in Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Inhabitant of Carcosa" (1886). The ancient and mysterious city is barely described and is viewed only in hindsight by a character who once lived there.
The Metamorphoses of Apuleius, which Augustine of Hippo referred to as The Golden Ass, is the only ancient Roman novel in Latin to survive in its entirety.
Hyperion is a 1989 science fiction novel by American author Dan Simmons. The first book of his Hyperion Cantos series, it won the Hugo Award for best novel. The plot of the novel features multiple time-lines and is told from the point of view of many characters. It follows a similar structure to The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. A framing narrative serves as a means to present the tales of a group of pilgrims sent to Hyperion's time tombs, to make a request of the Shrike, a metallic creature that is said to grant one wish to each pilgrim. The story is continued in The Fall of Hyperion, published in 1990.
The Mysterious Mr Quin is a short story collection by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on 14 April 1930 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00.
Accolon is a character in Arthurian legends where he is a lover of Morgan le Fay who is killed by King Arthur in a duel during the plot involving the sword Excalibur. He appears in Arthurian prose romances since the Post-Vulgate Cycle, including as Accalon in the French original Huth Merlin and Acalón in the Spanish adaptation El Baladro del Sabe Merlin.
"Soul Purpose" is the 10th episode of the fifth season of the American television series Angel. Written by Brent Fletcher and it was the directorial debut of David Boreanaz, who plays Angel, and was originally broadcast on January 21, 2004, on the WB network. In "Soul Purpose", guest star Christian Kane returns as Lindsey McDonald, taking on the deceased Doyle's name in an attempt to convince Spike that he is the vampire champion mentioned in the Shanshu Prophecy. Meanwhile, Angel slips into a feverish hallucinative state in which he dreams that his destiny of redemption is claimed by Spike.
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1961) is a biographical novel of Michelangelo Buonarroti written by American author Irving Stone. Stone lived in Italy for years visiting many of the locations in Rome and Florence, worked in marble quarries, and apprenticed himself to a marble sculptor. A primary source for the novel is Michelangelo's correspondence, all 495 letters of which Stone had translated from Italian by Charles Speroni and published in 1962 as I, Michelangelo, Sculptor. Stone also collaborated with Canadian sculptor Stanley Lewis, who researched Michelangelo's carving technique and tools. The Italian government lauded Stone with several honorary awards for his cultural achievements highlighting Italian history.
Robert Arthur was an American screenwriter and producer best known for his long association with Universal Studios.
Shamanic Princess is a six episode OVA series developed by the Princess Project creative collective and produced by Animate Film in association with Triangle Staff starting in June 1996 and continuing over a two-year period. Central Park Media licensed the series for North America release in 2000. Following the closure of Central Park Media, the series has been re-licensed to Media Blasters for a 2013 release. The OVA premiered on Toku in the United States in January 2016. as well added on Tubi.
The Black Pirate is a fictional character from DC Comics, created by Sheldon Moldoff. He first appeared in Action Comics #23. His ghost played an important role in James Robinson's 1990s Starman series.
Cinderella (Korean: 신데렐라) is a 2006 South Korean supernatural horror film, loosely inspired by the fairy tale of Cinderella. It was directed by Bong Man-dae and starred Do Ji-won and Shin Se-kyung.
The Dead Mountaineer's Hotel is a 1970 Soviet science fiction novel written by brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. In 2015, Melville House published an English translation by Josh Billings as part of their Neversink Library collection. The novel heavily incorporates elements of detective fiction as it follows Inspector Peter Glebsky as he attempts to solve a classic locked-room mystery. However, the novel subverts common mystery novel tropes, and flouts the second of Ronald Knox's "Ten Commandments" of the detective genre: "All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course."
Behind the Mask is a 1932 American pre-Code horror film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring Jack Holt, Boris Karloff and Edward Van Sloan.
Eurydice is a play by French writer Jean Anouilh, written in 1941. The story is set in the 1930s, among a troupe of travelling performers. It combines skepticism about romance in general and the intensity of the relationship between Orpheus and Eurydice with an other-worldly mysticism. The result is a heavily ironic modern retelling of the classical Orpheus myth. The play has also been performed under the title Point of Departure, a translation by Kitty Black, and on Broadway as Legend of Lovers, in a 1951 production by the Theatre Guild.
The Wolves of Mercy Falls is a series of four novels, located in the genres of romance, fantasy and young adult (YA) fiction, written by number one bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater. Published by American multinational company Scholastic from between 2009 and 2014, the series consists of the titles Shiver, Linger, Forever and Sinner. Set in the fictional town of Mercy Falls, Stiefvater has stated that the real town of Ely in Minnesota would be its closest neighbouring destination, with the two towns sharing a similar climate.
Goldfish Warning! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Neko Nekobe which ran in Nakayoshi. A 54-episode anime television series aired on TV Asahi from January 12, 1991 through February 29, 1992. Each episode of the anime contained two 11-minute stories, often unconnected with each other. A short film was released in 1992. The anime was made into an anime comic format with six episodes per volume. The first volume was released on July 25, 1991.
