Introduction
“Queen of the Black Coast” is one of the original short stories about Conan the Cimmerian. First published in Weird Tales magazine in May 1934. Conan becomes a notorious pirate and plunders the coastal villages of Kush alongside Bêlit, a head-strong femme fatale.
Due to its epic scope and atypical romance, the story is considered an undisputed classic of Conan lore and is often cited by Howard scholars as one of his most famous tales.
Howard earned $115 for the sale of this story to Weird Tales and it is now in the public domain. There was also a partial early draft where the Queen is named Tameris, not Bêlit.
From the letters:
In a letter (#262) to Clark Ashton Smith, ca. October 1933 the story is mentioned:
Thanks very much for the kind things you said about my recent yarns. Wright has three more Conan yarns yet unpublished: “Iron Shadows in the Moon”, “The Queen of the Black Coast”, and “Rogues in the House” which I hope you’ll like. I’m at present working on another which I haven’t yet titled.
Lovecraft also commented on the story and in an answering letter (#284) Howard writes:
Thanks very much for the kind things you said about my recent yarns. Wright has three more Conan yarns yet unpublished: “Iron Shadows in the Moon”, “The Queen of the Black Coast”, and “Rogues in the House” which I hope you’ll like. I’m at present working on another which I haven’t yet titled.
Robert H. Barlow also like the story as we learn in a letter (#290) from Howard written on June 1, 1934:
Thank you very much for your kind comments concerning “Queen of the Black Coast”, and I am sorry about your eyes. I strained mine at a comparatively early age, and have been forced to wear glasses while reading or working for a number of years now.
Howard thanks HPL again in a letter (#294) circa June 1934:
Glad you’re finding your stay in Florida so enjoyable. Glad you liked “Queen of the Black Coast”. The fans seem to have liked the verse headings of the chapters. Thanks for the kind things you said about the Kull stories, but I doubt if I’ll ever be able to write another. The three stories I wrote about that character seemed almost to write themselves, without any planning on my part; there was no conscious effort on my part to work them up. They simply grew up, unsummoned, full grown in my mind and flowed out on paper from my fingertips. To sit down and consciously try to write another story on that order would be to produce something the artificiality of which would be apparent.
Published in:
- WEIRD TALES VOLUME 23 NUMBER 5, Popular Fiction Publishing Company, May 1934
- AVON FANTASY READER #8, Avon Publishing Company, 1948
- ミステリマガジン1969年11月( MISUTERIMAGAJIN 1969 NEN 11 GATSU) (MYSTERY MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 1969), Hayakawa Publishing Corporation , November 1969 (Japanese)
- SWORD AND SORCERY ANNUAL, Ultimate Publishing Company, 1975
- IXION UNBOUND #5, Jonathan Bacon, May 1976 [Distributed in REHupa #21, graphic adaptation, Spanish]
- QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST, Grant, 1978
- FANTASY #1, Szegedi Sf alkotótábor, 1987 (Hungarian, Part 1)
- CONAN Z CIMMERII, Wydawnictwo Alfa, 1988 (Polish)
- MUŽ Z CIMMERIE, Klub Julese Vernea, 1989 (Czech)
- L’IRA DI CONAN, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, February 1990 (Italian)
- CONAN: VĔŽ SLONA A JINÉ POVÍDKY, Klub Julese Vernea, Fall 1990 (Czech)
- CONAN JA DEMONIT, Jalava, 1990 (Finnish)
- MUSTAN RANNIKON KUNINGATAR, Jalava, 1991 (Finnish, graphic adaptation)
- CONAN A KALANDOR, Cherubion Könyvkiadó, 1992 (Hungarian)
- CONAN A KIMMÉRIAI, Phoenix Könyvkiadó, 1993 (Hungarian)
- TUTTI I CICLI FANTASTICI – IL CICLO DI CONAN TOMO I, Newton Compton Editori, April 1995 (Italian)
- КОНАН УНИЩОЖИТЕЛЯ (KONAN UNISHTOZHITELYA), Ofir, 1996 (Bulgarian)
- IL GRANDE LIBRO DELLA HEROIC FANTASY, Editrice Nord, October 1998
- CONAN JA MUSTA RANNIKU KUNINGANNA, Elmatar, 1999 (Estonian)
- THE CONAN CHRONICLES Volume 1, Millennium, August 2000
- CONAN: VĔŽ SLONA A JINÉ POVÍDKY, BB Art, 2001 (Czech)
- COMPLETE CONAN OF CIMMERIA VOLUME 1, Wandering Star, 2002
- CONAN, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, September 2003 (German)
- THE COMING OF CONAN THE CIMMERIAN, Del Rey, December 2003
- THE COMING OF CONAN THE CIMMERIAN, Science Fiction Book Club, December 2003
- CONAN YILLIKLARI 1: FIL KULESI, İthaki Yayınları, 2003 (Turkish)
- ÖSSZES CONAN TÖRTÉNETE I, Szukits Könyvkiadó, 2004 (Hungarian)
- CONAN. IL CERCHIO NERO, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, June 2005 (Italian)
- THE COMING OF CONAN THE CIMMERIAN, Del Rey, November 2005
- CONAN – A RAINHA DA COSTA NEGRA, Saída de Emergência, 2005 (Portuguese)
- THE WEIRD WRITINGS OF ROBERT E. HOWARD Volume 1, Girasol Collectables, January 2006
- THE COMPLETE CHRONICLES OF CONAN, Gollancz, January 2006
- CONAN 1, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, February 2006 (German)
- 新訂版コナン全集1: 黒い海岸の女王 (SHINTEIBAN KONAN ZENSHŪ 1: KUROI KAIGAN NO JŌŌ)(THE AUTHORIZED CONAN CHRONICLES 1: QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST), Tōkyō Sōgensha, October 2006 (Japanese)
- GARDENS OF FEAR, Wildside Press, December 2006
- CONAN, O CIMÉRIO Volume 1, Conrad Editora, 2006 (Portuguese)
- FIVE TALES OF CONAN THE BARBARIAN, Echo Library, March 2007
- CONAN LE CIMMÉRIEN, Bragelonne, October 2007 (French)
- PEOPLE OF THE DARK, Cosmos Books, November 2007
- CONAN I, Aurora, 2007 (Czech)
- QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST, Dodo Press, February 2008
- CONAN LE CIMMÉRIEN, Bragelonne, April 2008 (French, 2nd printing)
- THE CONAN CHRONICLES Volume 1, Gollancz, April 2008
- PEOPLE OF THE DARK: THE WEIRD WORKS OF ROBERT E. HOWARD VOLUME 2, Audio Realms, June 2008 (audio)
- “. . .AND THEIR MEMORY WAS A BITTER TREE . . .”, BlackBart Books, August 2008
- THE ADVENTUROUS TALES OF CONAN THE CIMMERIAN, Onno Tasler, October 2008
- CONAN. IL CERCHIO NERO, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 2008 (Italian)
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN, Prion Books, May 2009 (U.K.)
- THE COMING OF CONAN THE CIMMERIAN, Tantor Media Inc., June 2009 (audio)
- HEROES IN THE WIND: FROM KULL TO CONAN, Penguin Books, September 2009
- CONAN THE REAVER, Halcyon Press, Ltd., December 2009
- DOLAZAK KONANA SIMERIJANCA, IPS Media, 2009 (Serbian)
- THE CONAN SERIES: QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST, Paradox Entertainment, Inc., January 2010
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN, Easton Press, January 2010
- THE ROBERT E. HOWARD OMNIBUS: 99 COLLECTED STORIES, Halcyon Press, Ltd., May 2010
- SWORD’S EDGE: PAINTINGS INSPIRED BY THE WORKS OF ROBERT E. HOWARD, Underwood Books, September 2010 (excerpt only)
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN, Prion Books, November 2010
- CONAN LE CIMMÉRIEN, Bragelonne, 2010 (French, 3rd printing)
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN, Metro Books, 2010
- MUSTAN RANNIKON KUNINGATAR JA MUITA CONAN-KERTOMUKSIA, Jalava, 2010 (Finnish)
- CONAN I PRADAWNI BOGOWIE, Rebis, January 2011 (Polish)
- CONAN IL BARBARO, Newton Compton Editori, July 2011 (Italian)
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN: THE CLASSIC ORIGINAL STORIES THAT INSPIRED THE FILM, Gollancz, July 2011
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN: THE STORIES THAT INSPIRED THE MOVIE, Del Rey, August 2011
- CONAN, Milady, August 2011 (French)
- TALES OF HIGH ADVENTURE #1, IndieOnly, September 2011
- THE CONAN SERIES: QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST, Paradox Entertainment, Inc., September 2011
- CONAN IL BARBARO, Newton Compton Editori, October 2011 (Italian)
- CONAN THE DESTROYER, Gollancz, October 2011
- TALES OF HIGH ADVENTURE #1, IndieOnly, October 2011
- CONAN BARBARZYŃCA, Rea, April 2012 (Polish)
- CONAN I PRADAWNI BOGOWIE, Rebis, July 2012 (Polish)
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN, Jame-Books, August 2012
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN: TALES OF MAGIC & MAYHEM VOLUME 2, Summit Classic Press, September 2012
- QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST, THE DEVIL IN IRON, THE PEOPLE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE: CONAN THE BARBARIAN, Jame-Books, September 2012
- PULP REPLICA: WEIRD TALES VOLUME 23 NUMBER 5, Girasol Collectables, November 2012
- CONAN 2, Urco Editora, 2012 (Galician)
- LA REINA DE LA COSTA NEGRA Y OTROS RELATOS DE CONAN, Cátedra, 2012 (Spanish)
- LEGJOBB CONAN-TÖRTÉNETEI, Szukits Könyvkiadó, 2012 (Hungarian)
- WEIRD TALES: 101 WEIRD, STRANGE, AND SUPERNATURAL STORIES VOLUME 6, Civitas Media, January 2013
- ROBERT E. HOWARD’S COLLECTED WORKS, Jame-Books, February 2013
- WEIRD TALES: 101 WEIRD, STRANGE, AND SUPERNATURAL STORIES VOLUME 6, Civitas Media, May 2013
- CONAN LE CIMMÉRIEN, Bragelonne, September 2013 (French, 4th printing)
- CONAN: MEČ S FÉNIXEM A JINÉ POVÍDKY, Dobrovský, 2013 (Czech)
- CONAN BARBARZYŃCA. TOM 1, BookRage, December 2014 (Polish)
- QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST, Fiction House Press, February 2015
- CONAN – DIE ORIGINAL ERZÄHLUNGEN BAND 1, Festa Verlag, June 2015 (German)
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN, Ulwencreutz Media, November 2015
- CONAN BARBARZYŃCA, Rea, November 2015 (Polish)
- КОНАН TOM 1, Изток-Запад (East West), 2015 (Bulgarian)
- QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST, Perennial Press, March 2016
- QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST, BonaFide Outlaw Freepress, July 2016 (audio)
- CONAN IL BARBARO, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, October 2016 (Italian)
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN – COLLECTED ADVENTURES, The Castanea Group, December 2016
- KRALJICA CRNE OBALE, Hangar 7, January 2017 (Croatian)
- CONAN: BROADSWORD LEGACY COLLECTION, Shirtsleeve Press, April 2017
- QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST, Sir Angels, April 2017
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN – COLLECTED ADVENTURES, The Castanea Group, June 2017
- ROBERT E. HOWARD’S CONAN THE CIMMERIAN BARBARIAN: THE COMPLETE WEIRD TALES OMNIBUS, Pulp-Lit Press, June 2017
- ROBERT E. HOWARD’S CONAN THE CIMMERIAN BARBARIAN: THE COMPLETE WEIRD TALES OMNIBUS, Audible Audio, June 2017
- THE CLASSIC FANTASY COLLECTION, Arcturus Publishing, July 2017
- ROBERT E. HOWARD’S CONAN THE CIMMERIAN BARBARIAN: THE COMPLETE WEIRD TALES OMNIBUS, Easton Press, 2017
- THE CLASSIC FANTASY COLLECTION, Arcturus Publishing, March 2018
- NACERÁ UNA BRUJA, Sportula, March 2018 (Spanish)
- CONAN LE CIMMÉRIEN: LA REINE DE LA CÔTE NOIRE, Glénat, May 2018
- CONAN: DE KONINGIN VAN DE ZWARTE KUST, Glénat, August 2018 (Dutch, graphic adaptation)
- CONAN, O BÁRBARO – LIVRO 2, Pipoca e Nanquim, September 2018 (Portuguese)
- CONAN IL CIMMERO 1: LA REGINA DELLA COSTA NERA, Star Comics, October 2018 (Italian, graphic adaptation)
- CONAN DER CIMMERIER: DIE KÖNIGIN DER SCHWARZEN KÜSTE, Splitter Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, November 2018 (German, graphic adaptation)
- CONAN Z CIMMERIE, SVAZEK I, Argo, November 2018 (Czech, graphic adaptation)
- CONAN AF CIMMERIA – DEN SORTE KYSTS DRONNING, Shadow Zone, December 2018 (Danish, graphic adaptation)
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN, Prion Books, 2018
- DE TOREN VAN DE OLIFANT EN ANDERE VERHALEN, Spatterlight, January 2019 (Dutch)
- LE CIMMÉRIEN (CONAN, TOME 1), Le Livre de Poche, January 2019 (French)
- LES AVENTURES DE CONAN LE CIMMÉRIEN, MS BookS, April 2019 (French)
- NACERÁ UNA BRUJA, Sportula, April 2019 (Spanish, 2nd edition)
- THE CIMMERIAN: QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST #1, Ablaze Publishing, March 2020 (Part 1 of 2)
- THE CIMMERIAN: QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST #1, Ablaze Publishing, March 2020 (Part 1 of 2, graphic adaptation)
- THE CIMMERIAN: QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST #2, Ablaze Publishing, March 2020 (Part 2 of 2)
- THE CIMMERIAN: QUEEN OF THE BLACK COAST #2, Ablaze Publishing, March 2020 (Part 2 of 2, graphic adaptation)
- KRALJICA CRNE OBALE, Strahor, July 2020 (Serbo-Croatian)
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN: COMPLETE COLLECTION, Nighttime Editions, 2020
- THE FEASTING OF SWORDS: EPIC TALES OF BLOOD AND THUNDER, Legendary Planet, August 2020
- THE CIMMERIAN VOLUME 1, Ablaze Publishing, December 2020
- THE CIMMERIAN VOLUME 1, Ablaze Publishing, December 2020 (graphic adaptation)
- CONAN Z CIMMERIE, Tympanum, First quarter 2021 (Czech, audio)
- OS CONTOS MAIS ÉPICOS DE CONAN, Saída de Emergência, May 2021 (Portuguese)
- CONAN LE CIMMÉRIEN, Bragelonne, July 2021 (French)
- ROBERT E. HOWARD AND WEIRD TALES, Dennis McHaney, November 2021 (excerpt only)
The L. Sprague de Camp edited version of this story appears in the following places:
- THE COMING OF CONAN, Gnome Press, 1953
- LA REINA DE LA COSTA NEGRA, Ediciones Jones, 1965-1966
- CONAN OF CIMMERIA, Lancer, 1969
- CONAN VON CIMMERIA, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, 1970 (German)
- 冒険者コナン (BŌKENSHA KONAN) (ADVENTURER CONAN), Hayakawa Bunko, January 1971 (Japanese)
- コナンと石碑の呪い (KONAN TO SEKIHI NO NOROI), Sōgen Suiri Bunko, June 1971 (Japanese)
- CONAN DE CIMERIA, Editorial Bruguera, 1973 (Spanish)
- CONAN OF CIMMERIA, Sphere, 1974
- CONAN VAN CIMMERIË, Zwarte Beertjes, 1976 (Dutch)
- CONAN OF CIMMERIA, Prestige, 1977
- SWORD & SORCERY ANNUAL, Ultimate Publishing Company, 1975
- CONAN THE BARBARIAN #58, Marvel, du
- CONAN DI CIMMERIA, Editrice Nord, September 1978 (Italian)
- CONAN LE CIMMERIEN, Jean-Claude Lattès, March 1982 (French)
- CONAN VON CIMMERIEN, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, May 1982 (German)
- CONAN LE CIMMERIEN, Jean-Claude Lattès, April 1983 (French, 2nd printing)
- CONAN EL CIMMERIO, Ediciones Forum, 1983 (Spanish)
- CONAN EN DE KONINGIN VAN DE ZWARTE KUST, W & L Boeken, 1983 (Dutch)
- CONAN VON CIMMERIEN, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, 1983 (German, 3rd edition)
- CONAN OF CIMMERIA, Ace, 1984
- KONAN: GRAD LOBANJA, Niro Dečje Novine, 1984 (Part 1, Serbo-Croatian)
- CONAN LE CIMMÉRIEN, J’ai Lu, May 1985 (French)
- KONAN: PROKLETSTVO MONOLITA, Niro Dečje Novine, 1985 (Part 2, Serbo-Croatian)
- CONAN CIMMERIERN, Aventyrsspel, 1987 (Swedish)
- THE CONAN CHRONICLES Volume 1, Sphere, August 1989
- LA LEGGENDA DI CONAN IL CIMMERO, Editrice Nord, October 1989 (Italian)
- CONAN, SFK Winston, 1989 (Czech)
- CONAN LE CIMMÉRIEN, J’ai Lu, May 1990 (French, 2nd printing)
- CONAN Z CYMERII, Wydawnictwo PiK, 1991 (Polish)
- CONAN BARBAR, AFSF, 1991 (Czech)
- CONAN LE CIMMÉRIEN, J’ai Lu, April 1992 (French, 3rd printing)
- CONAN IL CIMMERO, Editrice Nord, June 1993 (Italian)
- CONAN VON CIMMERIEN, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, May 1994 (German)
- CONAN, AFSF, 1994 (Czech)
- CONAN FRA KIMMERIA, Semic / Nordisk Forlag A/S, 1994 (Norwegian)
- LA SAGA DI CONAN IL CIMMERO, Editrice Nord, 1994 (Italian)
- CONAN EL CIMMERIO, Ediciones Martinez Roca, 1995 (Spanish)
- CONAN: ESPADA & MAGIA VOLUME 4, Unicórnio Azul, 1995 (Portuguese)
- CONAN I: BARBAR, AFSF, 1997 (Czech)
- CONAN II: DOBYVATEL, AFSF, 1997 (Czech)
- CONAN, Claude Lefrancq Editeur, October 1998 (French)
- CONAN DE CIMMERIER, De Boekerij – Uitgeverij M, March 2003 (Dutch)