Mervyn Peake, who was born into the troubled world of post-Imperial China in 1911, and died in London after a long illness in 1968, has become a cult-figure since the publication of his remarkable novels (inaccurately known as the ‘Gormenghast trilogy’) ‘Titus Groan’, ‘Gormenghast’,and ‘Titus Alone’. This is the first published study of Peake’s life and work. Despite the unique imaginative world of his novels, the connections between events of his life and the trajectory of his art are very close. Eccentric, engaging and chaotic, Peake was trained as a started as a painter and illustrator and had never envisaged writing a novel when he began work on the first of the Titus books. At different periods of his life he was in close contact with other writers and artists – notably Dylan Thomas, Graham Greene and the actor Esmond Knight – but his instinct preference was to isolate himself within his family and to work alone. His rich post-romantic poetry and his extraordinary prose amply vindicate this decision.

Mervyn Peake: A Biographical and Critical Exploration PDF

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