Gormenghast

By Mervyn Peake and John Constable

In a world bound by iron laws and dead rituals, two young men are struggling to make their way: Steerpike, the renegade kitchen-boy who seduces and murders his way up the social ladder, and Titus Groan, heir to Gormenghast, who comes to threaten its very existence.

John Constable famously 'pulled off the impossible' (The Times) with his stage adaptation of Mervyn Peake's legendary Gormenghast trilogy. Commissioned and produced by the David Glass Ensemble, this gruesome, gothic drama has since become a landmark in the history of adaptation for the stage.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Release date: May 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781849435819

Reviews for Gormenghast

[fergster73 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely loved it!

[meditationesmartini · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This could have been even better than Titus Groan, because when it comes to epic life--the return and grim fal of Flay, the Golem of Gormenghast; Titus's great allegorical sexual encounter with the Thing in the cave; (heart pounding, full of hate, breathing in water), Steerpike's last stand. I will not forget these characters.

But Peake doesn't seem to know if he wants allegory, high satire, or low parody, and all to often settles for the last in a grimy ramshackle way that the "Fantasy of Manners" label I see applied to this book does only so much to excuse. I'll give fantasy of manners to Fuchsia, and maybe (maybe) Irma Prunesquallor and Bellgrove, although Peake all too often seems to be looking down his nose Britishly at their marriage with sneery vignettes, rather than the good-humoured touch they demand. But the schoolmasters and pupils, the way they intrude like broken-record trash knockoffs of the sort of just-over-the-top public-school parody you might see in e.g. Waugh, the way you're constantly invited to take this book seriously and then get your nose pushed into turgid slapstick comedy, is demoralizing.

And it saps the book's might to an extent. Too much of the time you feel like they could all be called Prunesquallor. Peake should have decided whether he wanted a Jungian fable or credit for preemptively writing Pink Floyd's The Wall, and then stuck with it.

And Titus is a cipher, grimmer than Prince Hal or Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime and that's all. He has another chance to shine, though, in book 3, and by the end of this one I was starting to care a little. But I think Peake wants me to think "Can he be free?", when I really just think "Will he turn out to be damaged goods?"

[sgerbic · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Reviewed Feb 2005 In this second novel by Peake the author becomes more detailed and numbers his chapters instead of titling as he did in his last novel. The story closely follows the movie it end with the Death of Steerpike and Titus leaving on horseback to seek his destiny. Oddly there is another novel "Titus Alone" I am curious to see what happens to him, but am almost afraid to read it as it probably deals with him just riding around - living off the land and finally coming back home ready to rule. I found the death of Fucia unnecessary and anticlimactic. As well as the character, "the Thing" what was that all about. Surly Titus could have learned about freedom some other way. As far as the story being believable it really reached to imagine that the valley and the castle could be flooded so quickly with little rain. The countess states to Titus that there is nowhere but Gormenghast, there must be other countries. Why is there no trade. where does the countess come from, what is her history? Were is Titus and Fucia supposed to find mates? He details the surroundings but never answers the basic questions. 6-2005

[kronos999_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a unique coming of age story, with Peake's Dickenslike characters and the brooding castle the overshadows everything. The plot itself unfolds slowly, both in pages and in years, but this was not a detriment as the reader knows what the expect in the second novel of the trilogy. In many ways it is even more bizarre than the first book, but that is part of the appeal.

[clong_818048 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Peake's Gormenghast series should be on the reading list of every serious fantasy fan. His descriptive writing is superb, and the combination of quirky, likable, and yet absurdly grotesque characters and gothic setting are truly unique. This book continues the adventures of the survivors from the cast of characters introduced in Titus Groan. It builds on the strengths of Book I, within the framework of a more conventional plot (with Titus as the protagonist and a much less ambiguous Steerpike as the villain). An assortment of professors are introduced as new characters to provide comic relief and an opportunity to observe Titus' growth and development. I found it a bit of a slow read, although there are several amazingly compelling scenes, ranging from the magical pageantry of Titus' birthday masque to the pulse-pounding pursuit of Steerpike through the labyrinthine passages of the castle. The Prunesquallors' soiree and subsequent love scene in the garden provided one of the funniest interludes I can remember reading.

[patience_crabstick · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm so glad I discovered the Gormenghast series. Mervyn Peake is the most beautifully descriptive writer I've ever read. Gormenghast castle is as much of a character as the people in this novel. Gormenghast is the second novel in the Gormenghast trilogy, and it tells of the last days of the ancient Gormenghast line, as Titus, the 77th Earl of Gormenghast rebels against the life he is expected to lead, and Steerpike, the former kitchen boy, plots to take over all. This is a series I will definitely reread.

[terrapinjetta_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyed the first book, not so much the others because I didn't relate as much to the characters. Also, the mad owl earl was totally awesome.

[wirkman_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This second volume it the Gormenghast Trilogy is as fine as the first, and together they make a good pair, a classic pair, a work of perfection. Consider the third volume a sequel, and the main tale as covered in "Titus Groan" and "Gormenghast." Oddly, the title of the first would have better covered the tale of the second, since this, "Gormenghast," is about the education of Titus Groan, heir to Gormenghast castle. A powerful, and truly odd and inventive book.

[ragwaine · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It doesn't have some of the big elements that I really enjoy in stories. There was really only one fantastic element in the book and though it was a bit of a tragedy it wasn't tragic enough to pull at my heartstrings.I definitely enjoyed it more than the first book but I may have read the first book too slowly. The writing is amazing. The style is unique. The characters are extremely colorful and ALL very memorable.I can see why something like this never goes out of print. It truly is a classic in a niche of its own.

[karin7-11 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved it when I read it, but probably wouldn't now.

[jayne_charles_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There seemed to be a lot more scope for entertainment in this, the second book in the trilogy. For a start, we are introduced to the staff of the local school for the first time. This leads to surely the funniest single scene in the entire series - where the teacher wakes up having fallen asleep in the middle of a lesson to see.......well, I can't spoil it, but it was well worth reading.On the other hand, some parts of the story seemed to go on much too long (in particularly the will-he-or-won't-he-drown section, which lasted so long I almost lost the will to live). I haven't yet read the last in the series but may well do so one day.

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Gormenghast is the middle part of a trilogy, and you should read Titus Groan first if you haven't already. It took me a long time to warm up to Titus Groan and I only got hooked about half-way through. At first I didn't like any of the characters, and Peake's style is forbidding at times. The pace is beyond leisurely--Peake takes his time. He was a visual artist and at times you can practically feel the detailed brush work in his word pictures that use a rich, sometimes abstruse vocabulary. It's the kind of narrative for which you have to have patience, but is rewarding because the imagery is so vivid. So, having been won over to the style and gained favorites among the characters, I expected to fall right into the sequel. I didn't find that to be the case, I think because the very characters I was most attached to weren't featured much in the first 100 pages--one of them didn't appear until well after that mark. Instead a whole new cast of characters appeared. Titus was barely over a year old at the end of the first book--at the start of this book he's now he's seven-years-old--a schoolboy--and we get to meet his professors. It was amusingly Hogwartesque, especially as we get in one chapter a game with boys flying in the air (sans magic) with the star player sporting black hair and a birthmark on his forehead. And the outcome of that game... well, it produced a rather macabre giggle. Then there was this moment with Titus and his sister Lady Fuchsia bonding... And well, by the time we get to the scene with Titus playing marbles with the elderly headmaster and Dr Prune, I was once again enthralled. In fact, I'd say I liked this book a tad more than the first volume.And I have to say, while I wouldn't precisely say I was fond of him, I increasingly found Steerpike one of the most fascinating villains in fantasy literature. He'd be admirable were he not so evil--brilliant, cunning, brave, athletic and ambitious--he makes Rowling's Lord Voldemort look like a crude amateur. And he and Titus were interesting foils for each other.So, now on to Titus Alone, the last part of the trilogy. It's about half of the size of the first two books, and I have it on good authority it's even weirder!

[overthemoon_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

my favourite volume of the trilogy, so eventful, suspenseful, and where the admirable Gertrude (I think she's my fave character) is transfigured into a monument of determination.

[sashmigosh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best books ever written!

[miss_read_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Not my cup of tea at all. Got about 100 pages in and wanted to throw it against the wall. One of the only books I've ever failed to complete.

[jmoncton_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

2nd in the Gormenghast trilogy - better than the first which was very good. Eager to move onto book 3!

[dorotheabaker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was looking for something new to read and found the 2nd volume of the Gormenghast trilogy in my bookshelf. I had to start with that, because I didn't seem to own a copy of the first or last volumes (which I've now reserved from the library). The thing that made me impatient to start reading it, even though I was starting form the wrong book, was the extraordinarily atmospheric vocabulary. It's almost as if Peake compiled a list of words which embodied exactly the atmosphere he wanted to produce, and worked with that throughout writing the whole book so this vein of absolute consistency in style runs through the whole thing. For example, in describing the color of Steerpike's eyes, he refers to them as 'the color of dried blood'. Another author might have said 'rust colored', but that wouldn't have been in keeping with the atmosphere, which to me has that thick, almost drugged feeling that one experiences in very vivid dreams.Another thing I loved about the writing style was the rich, lengthy descriptions. Some people might find this tedious, I'm guessing (just from reading the other reviews on here) but description - preferably focussing on minute details - is one of my favorite things in writing, both as a reader and author. I can't wait to read the other volumes.

[dmsteyn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

'… when, before a masterpiece, the acid throat contracts, and words are millstones…' - p.535 of the Illustrated Trilogy‘Words are millstones’ – too true, and Peake’s Gormenghast, being a masterpiece, presents one with an equally weighty task when trying to review it. The second book in what is erroneously known as the ‘Gormenghast Trilogy’ (it is not a trilogy, and Peake preferred to call them the Titus novels), Gormenghast continues the story of Titus Groan, 77th Earl of Groan, from his seventh year up to his coming of age. It portrays Titus’ development from callow youth to rebellious adolescent, ending with what Peake describes as Titus ‘outgrowing his kingdom’. There are also various subplots that illuminate the themes of loyalty and rebellion, from the continued rise of the main antagonist, Steerpike, to a delightful (if indulgent) subplot involving the faculty of Titus’ educators, in which his headmaster, Bellgrove, finds love in the most unexpected of places.Like Titus Groan, the first book in the cycle, Gormenghast is mainly concerned with an exploration of character: it has even been called a ‘fantasy of manners’. You will find neither magic in the novel, nor such pseudo-medieval accoutrements as knights or wizards. There is no map at the beginning of the book. You will search in vain for elves, dwarves or dragons. Peake writes more in the tradition of Dickens than Tolkien, although to say he writes in a tradition is misleading. Nothing quite resembles Gormenghast, not even the other two books in the series. Whereas Titus Groan was a much more contained novel, relating only about a year’s action, Gormenghast stretches the bounds of the Bildungsroman, while Titus Alone will go off on a whole other tangent, with its theme of the stranger in a strange land. Gormenghast is hard to describe, except as the emanation of a truly original mind.Peake writes with the eye of an artist, which he was. But he is more than merely a good setter of scenes. He is equally adept at creating tension, eliciting emotion, and plotting his novel. The book can also be unexpectedly funny – Peake likes to tease the reader with his wordplay, but also with straight-faced asides that can be hilarious. For instance, in this passage, the young students of Gormenghast are playing an illicit game with hand-held catapults:'There had been a time when clay – and even glass marbles were used; but after the third death and a deal of confusion in the hiding of the bodies, it was decided to be content with paper bullets.'This is so unexpected, and delivered with such deadpan seriousness, that I could not help but roar with laughter. The image of seven-year olds nonchalantly disposing of the bodies of their classmates – with a ‘deal of confusion’, at that – tickles the sadist in me, I guess. But Peake can also be heart-achingly sombre and serious. The fate of Fuchsia, Titus’ dreamy, awkward sister, had me in tears near the end of the book. This is thanks to Peake’s amazing skill at characterisation: he draws out the peculiarities of each of his cast, forming fully-rounded personalities. My favourite character has to be Dr. Prunesquallor. Not only is he a hilariously verbose dandy, but he is also a man of discerning tastes and extreme intelligence, with a compassionate heart to boot.The two main characters, according to my interpretation of the book, are Titus and Steerpike. They represent opposites who are, however, subtly intertwined. Titus, the privileged golden boy, seems a far cry from Steerpike, the former kitchen boy who, through deceit and skulduggery, scaled his way to a position of rank in the Gormenghast hierarchy. They are both, however, rebels at heart, willing to subvert the ancient laws of Gormenghast to reach their goals. Yet there are differences between them even on this front, differences of method and scale. Whereas Steerpike is willing to do anything to gain stature, with rebellion serving only as a means to an end, Titus only wishes to escape the deadening influence of Gormenghast and its superfluous rituals. Steerpike is brilliant, but, to take an image from Terry Pratchett, he is brilliant like the shards of a smashed mirror, all twinkling with bright points of light, but irrevocably broken. Titus is humane and caring, if somewhat confused and powerless throughout much of the novel. By the end of the story, he will have gained his independence from Gormenghast, but not without paying the cost of innocence lost.As I said at the beginning of the review, Gormenghast is a masterpiece. It has minor flaws – Peake can stray into some seemingly pointless plotlines, and he is not immune to the odd bit of purple prose – but these flaws are really part of the charm of the work. They highlight the risk of absurdity and irrelevance that Peake walked in writing such an original work. The fact that he manages to pull off this tightrope act with the barest hints of overbalancing only emphasises what a brilliant fantasist he was.