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Titus Groan

Mervyn Peake author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Vintage Publishing

Published:5th Feb '98

Should be back in stock very soon

Titus Groan cover

A brilliantly sustained flight of gothic imagination; the first of the bestselling Gormenghast trilogy.

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.

'Gormenghast is, to my mind and to my taste, a perfect creation' Neil Gaiman

Welcome 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

Mr Peake's first novel holds one with its glittering eye - It has a genuine plot in the strictest sense, and it persuades you to read on simply in order to know what will happen - its gallery of characters is wonderful * Nation *
A gorgeous volcanic eruption... A work of extraordinary imagination * New Yorker *
The Gormenghast Trilogy is one of the most important works of the imagination to come out of [this] age * Spectator *
[An] extraordinary story bursting with grotesque characters, madness and mayhem. Fantasy writers of today owe his wild imagination a massive debt * Mail on Sunday *

  • Runner-up for The BBC Big Read Top 100 2003

ISBN: 9780749394929

Dimensions: 198mm x 130mm x 30mm

Weight: 340g

496 pages