Titus Groan (Gormenghast Trilogy Book 1)

'Gormenghast is, to my mind and to my taste, a perfect creation' Neil GaimanWelcome to the world of Gormenghast, the classic fantasy series from the imagination of Mervyn Peake As the first novel opens, Titus, heir to Lord Sepulchrave, has just been born: he stands to inherit the miles of rambling stone and mortar that stand for Gormenghast Castle. Inside, all events are predetermined by a complex ritual, lost in history, understood only by Sourdust, Lord of the Library. There are tears and strange laughter; fierce births and deaths beneath umbrageous ceilings; dreams and violence and disenchantment contained within a labyrinth of stone.'A gorgeous volcanic eruption... A work of extraordinary imagination' New Yorker

Amazon.com Review

Mervyn Peake's gothic masterpiece, the Gormenghast trilogy, begins with the superlative Titus Groan, a darkly humorous, stunningly complex tale of the first two years in the life of the heir to an ancient, rambling castle. The Gormenghast royal family, the castle's decidedly eccentric staff, and the peasant artisans living around the dreary, crumbling structure make up the cast of characters in this engrossing story. Peake's command of language and unique style set the tone and shape of an intricate, slow-moving world of ritual and stasis: The walls of the vast room which were streaming with calid moisture, were built with gray slabs of stone and were the personal concern of a company of eighteen men known as the 'Grey Scrubbers'.... On every day of the year from three hours before daybreak until about eleven o'clock, when the scaffolding and ladders became a hindrance to the cooks, the Grey Scrubbers fulfilled their hereditary calling. Peake has been compared to Dickens, Tolkien, and Peacock, but Titus Groan is truly unique. Unforgettable characters with names like Steerpike and Prunesquallor make their way through an architecturally stifling world, with lots of dark corners around to dampen any whimsy that might arise. This true classic is a feast of words unlike anything else in the world of fantasy. Those who explore Gormenghast castle will be richly rewarded. --Therese Littleton

From Publishers Weekly

In this illustrated Gothic trilogy, a young heir matures within the confines of bleak Gormenghast castle. Volume three includes 12 critical essays and Peake's unfinished Titus Awakes . Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile

Lord Sepulchrave finally has an heir in this first book in the Gormenghast trilogy. Life in this castle is bound by ritual and hereditary position. Steerpike, who is determined to rise above his station as a kitchen boy, becomes a central character in this complex novel. Edmund Dehn is a patient storyteller. This is a book of long expository passages throughout which Dehn remains engaged. His skill as a narrator is also reflected in his presentation of a collection of odd characters, particularly Clara and Clarice, identical twins who speak (generally to each another) in similar flat tones that are bound up in the pair's narrow existence and limited mental capabilities. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

About the Author

Simon Vance is an award-winning actor and an AudioFile Golden Voice with over forty Earphones Awards. He has won thirteen prestigious Audie Awards and was Booklist's very first Voice of Choice in 2008. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London.Mervyn Laurence Peake (1911-1968) was born and raised in China until the age of eleven. He went on to study at the Royal Academy School in London, where he developed as an artist, designer, and writer. He worked as an artist on the island of Sark for several years and then returned to London to hold several exhibitions. Peake has also published illustrated verse and short stories for children, plays, short stories, and novels.

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