Discounted

Titus Groan

Mervyn Peake, Anthony Burgess (Introduction by)

$17.00 $16.95

Publication Date: June 26th, 2007

Publisher:

Harry N. Abrams

ISBN:

9781585679072

Pages:

400

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Staff Reviews

The first book in the Gormenghast series, a gothic fantasy tale describing the Dickensien inhabitants of the ancient and crumbling Gormenghast castle. The prose of this series is absolutely unmatched, especially within the world of fantasy. It is the exquisite, 5-Michelin star cuisine of genre fiction, and frankly, the writing is so wonderful to read that the story could get away with being somewhat shoddy. But it isn't! The story is fascinating, tracing the plots and machinations of a variety of grotesque residents of the ancient castle. Please do yourself a favor and read this overlooked gem!

— Finn

Description

Dreamlike and macabre, Mervyn Peake’s extraordinary novel Titus Groan—first in the Gormenghast Trilogy—is one of the most astonishing and fantastic works in modern fiction.

As the novel opens, Titus, heir to Lord Sepulchrave, has just been born. He stands to inherit the miles of rambling stone and mortar that form Gormenghast Castle.

Meanwhile, far away and in the kitchen, a servant named Steerpike escapes his drudgework and begins an auspicious ascent to power. Inside of Gormenghast, all events are predetermined by complex rituals, the origins of which are lost in time—and the castle is peopled by dark characters in half-lit corridors.

Introduction by Anthony Burgess

Praise for the Gormenghast Trilogy:

“There is nothing in literature like Mervyn Peake’s remarkable Gormenghast novels . . . They were crafted by a master, who was also an artist, and they take us to an ancient castle as big as a city, with heroes and villains and people larger than life that are impossible to forget.” —Neil Gaiman

“[Peake’s books] are actual additions to life; they give, like certain rare dreams, sensations we never had before, and enlarge our conception of the range of possible experience.” —C. S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia

“His inventiveness, his ingenuity, and his humor are astonishing.” —San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

Mervyn Peake (1911–1968) was a playwright, painter, poet, illustrator, short story writer, and designer of theatrical costumes, as well as a novelist. Among his many books are the celebrated Gormenghast novels, Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone, and the posthumously published Titus Awakes, the lost book of Gormenghast finished by Peake’s wife Maeve Gilmore after his death. The Gormenghast novels, as well as Peake’s other writings, Mr. Pye and Peake’s Progress, are all available from The Overlook Press.