The Gormenghast Novels
The Gormenghast Novels by Mervyn Peake is a reprint edition published by Harry N. Abrams on December 1, 1995, featuring 1200 pages in English. This collection brings together Peake’s classic fantasy trilogy, set in the ancient and sprawling Gormenghast Castle, where the Groan dynasty grapples with madness and intrigue amidst a backdrop of bizarre creatures and elaborate rituals. The narrative follows the ambitious kitchen boy Steerpike as he navigates the complexities of the castle’s traditions while seeking to upend the established order.
Readers will encounter a richly imagined world filled with dark atmosphere, humor, and a vivid array of characters. The novels explore themes of power and ambition within a fantastical setting, complemented by Peake’s own illustrations that depict the strange inhabitants of Gormenghast. This edition also includes introductory essays by notable figures, enhancing the reader’s experience of Peake’s intricate storytelling and the gothic elements that define this significant work in 20th-century British literature.
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“A gorgeous, volcanic eruption . . . a work of extraordinary imagination” (The New Yorker), The Gormenghast Novels collects Mervyn Peake’s classic fantasy trilogy.
“The true fantasy classic of our time.” —Washington Post
A doomed lord, an emergent hero, an array of bizarre creatures, and an ancient royal family plagued by madness and intrigue–these are the denizens of ancient, sprawling, tumbledown Gormenghast Castle.
Within its vast halls and serpentine corridors, the members of the Groan dynasty and their master, Lord Sepulchrave, grow increasingly out of touch with a changing world as they pass their days in unending devotion to meaningless rituals and arcane traditions. Meanwhile, an ambitious kitchen boy named Steerpike rises by devious means to the post of Master of the Ritual while he maneuvers to bring down the Groans.
In these extraordinary novels, Peake has created a world where all is like a dream: lush, fantastical, vivid; a symbol of dark struggle. Accompanying the text are Peake’s own drawings, illustrating the whole assembly of strange creatures that inhabit Gormenghast.
Breathtaking in its power and drenched in dark atmosphere, humor, and intrigue, The Gormenghast Novels is a classic, one of the great works of 20th-century British literature. This edition includes introductory essays by Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange, and famed humorist Quentin Crisp.
The Gormenghat Novels (which includes Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone) has been included in Fantasy: The 100 Best Books, Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels, and 100 Must Read Fantasy Novels as one of the greatest fantasy works of the 20th century. Literary critic Harold Bloom has praised the series as the best fantasy novels of the 20th century and it is often compared to J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings.
“His inventiveness, his ingenuity, and his humor are astonishing.” —San Francisco Chronicle
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