Gormenghast

"The true fantasy classic of our time." -Washington Post Book World For generations of fantasy fans, this masterpiece ranks as one of the 20th century's most remarkable feats of imaginative writing. A young earl's future in a sprawling castle could be changed by a feral girl and a cunning servant in this acclaimed gothic fantasy trilogy's second entry. Titus Groan is seven years old, lord and heir to the crumbling castle Gormenghast. A gothic labyrinth of roofs and turrets, cloisters and corridors, stairwells and dungeons, it is also the cobwebbed kingdom of Byzantine government and age-old rituals, a world primed to implode beneath the weight of centuries of intrigue, treachery, and death. Steerpike, who began his climb across the roofs when Titus was born, is now ascending the spiral staircase to the heart of the castle, and in his wake lie imprisonment, manipulation, and murder . . . Gormenghast is the second volume in Mervyn Peake's acclaimed Gormenghast trilogy, but it's much more than a sequel to Titus Groan-it's an enrichment and deepening of that book. Introduction by Tad Williams / Afterword by Quentin Crisp Praise for the Gormenghast Trilogy: "[Peake's books] are actual additions to life; they give, like certain rare dreams, sensations we never had before, and enlarge our conception of the range of possible experience." -C. S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia "There is nothing in literature like Mervyn Peake's remarkable Gormenghast novels . . . They were crafted by a master, who was also an artist, and they take us to an ancient castle as big as a city, with heroes and villains and people larger than life that are impossible to forget." -Neil Gaiman "His inventiveness, his ingenuity, and his humor are astonishing." -San Francisco Chronicle

Mervyn Peake (1911-1968) was an English novelist, poet, artist, illustrator, playwright, and designer whose singular imagination made him one of the most influential writers of fantasy literature. Best known for the acclaimed Gormenghast series-Titus Groan, Gormenghast, Titus Alone, and the posthumously completed Titus Awakes-Peake created one of the most richly atmospheric and original worlds in modern fiction. A gifted visual artist as well as a writer, he illustrated many of his own works, bringing a unique depth and detail to his storytelling. Though often compared with other giants of fantasy literature, Peake's blend of gothic imagery, dark humor, poetry, and psychological insight remains entirely his own. His novels continue to inspire generations of readers, artists, and writers around the world.