Mervyn Peake

The Gormenghast Trilogy: Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone, by Mervyn Peake.

The first copies I had of these books was a boxed Del Rey trilogy with designs by Bob Pepper; I bought them from Half. I found that the first volume was a defective print and had to get a replacement copy. 

When this one-volume edition from Overlook came out – it was connected with the BBC miniseries – I sold the old box set, which was getting rather worn to my eyes. This edition includes introductory essays by Anthony Burgess and Quentin Crisp, and a large section of explanatory essays at the end, including scraps from Peake pertaining to the stories. This version of ‘Titus Alone’ restores some things that his widow – who released Peake’s unpolished draft – accidentally left out. Illustrations by the author, who was an accomplished artist and illustrator himself. How do I describe the world of Gormenghast, the ancient vast crumbling home of the Groans, a world unto itself? Dickensian, Gothic – C. S. Lewis suggested we need the new term ‘Gormenghastly’. I could describe the eccentric characters, the endless ritual, the bizarre adventures, and come nowhere near the experience. The simplest analysis is that it is about how we enter the world, grow up, separate ourselves to find out who we are, then come to acceptance of our past as a part of us, but need not let it completely define our future. “He had no longer any need for home, for he carried his Gormenghast within him. All that he sought was jostling within himself. He had grown up.”

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Omnibus. Novels Fantasy Softcover.

Boy in Darkness, by Mervyn Peake.

A section that Peake removed from ‘Gormenghast’, here published as its own book. Illustrations by P. J. Lynch, recalling the style of Peake himself. Titus leaves the castle and becomes trapped in a desert of grey space, where the semi-human Goat, Hyena, and especially the ghastly Lamb have horrifying designs on the boy’s body and soul.

Ranking: Keeper.

File Code: Novella. Hardback.

Titus Awakes, by Maeve Gilmore, Based on a Fragment by Mervyn Peake. With an Introduction by Brian Sibley.

“The Lost Book of Gormenghast.” “Maeve Gilmore, Mervyn Peake's widow, wrote Titus Awakes based on those pages left behind by Peake. Titus Awakes picks up the story of Titus, 77th Earl of Groan, as he wanders through the modern world. Fans of the Gormenghast novels will relish this continuation of the world Peake created and of the lives of unforgettable characters from the original novels, including the scheming Steerpike, Titus's sister Fuchsia, and the long-serving Dr. Prunesquallor. Published a century after Peake's birth, this strikingly imaginative novel provides a moving coda to Peake's masterwork.” – Amazon. Pretty meh, as far as I’m concerned, but I am a completist. I could not rest knowing this book was out there without giving it a look.

Ranking: Keeper.

File Code: Novel. ‘Fantasy’. Hardback.

Boy in Darkness and Other Stories, by Mervyn Peake. Edited by Sebastian Peake.

“The Centenary Edition.’ Published to mark Peake’s 100^th birthday, full of artwork by the man himself and edited by his son, this collection of his shorter fictions is a beautiful little book on superior paper stock. It is an interesting experience to read some of his non-Gormenghast work and find it can be just as wry and grotesque as his fantasy.

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Anthology. Short Stories. Softcover.

Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor, by Mervyn Peake. Illustrated by the Author.

“Captain Slaughterboard Drops Anchor is a darkly humorous children's picture book written and illustrated by the British author Mervyn Peake and published by Country Life in 1939. It was his first published work. The story concerns the nautical exploits of the titular captain and his rambunctious crew aboard their ship The Black Tiger. After some episodic adventures they capture a small humanoid, referred to only as the Yellow Creature, with whom Slaughterboard develops a strange platonic infatuation. His loyal crew gradually fall prey to misadventure and the book ends with the Captain and the Yellow Creature forsaking piracy for fishing on the creature's pink island. The book is notable for Peake's poetic style and his fine illustrations of the many fantastical beasts on the island.” – Wikipedia. I think Susan first got this book from Hardt’s, but I managed to wangle it from her with a little begging and explanation about my love for Peake.

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Children’s Picture Book. Hardback.

Letters from a Lost Uncle, by Mervyn Peake. Illustrated by the Author.

“Written for children, Letters from a Lost Uncle by Mervyn Peake is a combination of pencil drawing and typed manuscript. It is written in the form of letters from a lost uncle who is travelling in distant polar regions in search of a white lion. He has a spike for a leg, and is accompanied by his retainer, Jackson, a bizarre turtle figure.” – Wikipedia. This is a little marvel of a book, and a classic in its own right. I love poor Jackson and his phlegmatic ways, and the White Lion as a mystical figure is every bit as compelling as the White Whale.

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Fantasy. Novel. Hardback.

Mervyn Peake: My Eyes Mint Gold, by Malcolm Yorke.

A great biography of the artist, poet, and author, tracing his life from a childhood in China until his death in 1968, and includes a chapter on the impact and the afterlife of his work. Full of his drawings and photos of his life and pieces of his poetry and quotations from his letters and the letters of those who knew him, this is a fascinating book for many reasons and gives deeper insight into his work and his place in literature. I love his verses!

Ranking: Essential.

File Code: Biography. Hardback.