Titus Groan by: Mervyn Peake

 

Reading any sort of modern fantasy always has its roots in the work of J.R.R. Tolkien whether directly inspired by Middle-Earth or simply following in the legacy of the author, but what is always interesting is to read fantasy that is a contemporary of Tolkien.  Mervyn Peake lived during the life of J.R.R. Tolkien and is considered a contemporary of the man, despite having never been part of the literary circle of the Inklings.  Peake began his career as an illustrator for several authors including editions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, as well as painting factor workers and propaganda during World War II.  In the immediate post-war, as Tolkien was inspired by World War I, Peake was inspired by World War II to write back to back Titus Groan and Gormenghast, the first two installments of a planned epic cycle that would sadly stay as a trilogy before Peake’s death in 1968 from dementia with Lewy bodies at the young age of 57.  Peake as an author I only became vaguely aware of due to his influence on the Doctor Who work of Marc Platt in Ghost Light and Lungbarrow, as well as Big Finish Productions releasing a story featuring the character.

 

Titus Groan as a novel is deceptive as the titular Titus Groan is a relatively minor character integral to the plot occurring.  This novel is essentially an exploration of stagnation in societies that rely on archaic traditions to uphold their power, Titus being born to be the 77^th Earl of Groan, the ruling family of Gormenghast.  This event is the first domino falling in a sequence that breaks the stagnation over the course of two years as the reader is privy to the perspective of Steerpike, a kitchen boy who escapes the abuse of the kitchens to scheme his way to the top of the hierarchy and enter the upper classes.  Titus Groan in a way is a deconstruction of the British class system of the mid-20^th century with a clear examination of the madness that it allows, the ruling house of Groan are all madmen in some way.  Lord Sepulchrave is bored in his role of Earl and is slowly driven insane by Steerpike while his twin sisters are mad and hidden, driven to the arson of the Gormenghast Library and his older daughter Fuschia is taken in by Steerpike’s charm.  While Steerpike is our villain, Peake makes him incredibly compelling to read, the rest of the household having some layer of insanity and Steerpike himself comes across as the only rational person in the world.  This is despite the character doing horrific things, but the reader just has to pay attention to him as the rest of the cast of characters are so insane you believe something needs to change.  The setting of Titus Groan is integral in making this work, it is an expansive Gothic castle that has slowly been crumbling due to the stagnation of the world around it.  There are secrets and horrors around every corner, but life is built around tradition and continuing that tradition, something that Steerpike can take advantage of before he can ascend into a position of power.

 

Overall, Titus Groan is actually quite a slow book, but Mervyn Peake is wonderful at the worldbuilding and character writing this commentary on monarchy and tradition through the lens of Gothic fantasy.  While many compare him to Tolkien, it perhaps may be more apt to compare Titus Groan to Shelley, Stoker, and Stevenson in terms of tone and pacing, the slow build of the novel with this background haze of madness.  8/10.