But also, I found that the funny bits are really hilarious. Nevertheless, after resuming the book, I began to feel connected to several of the characters and concerned for their well-being: Fuchsia, Keda, Titus, and Nanny, especially. If you find yourself in the company of the Groans, you are no doubt at least a bit mad. ‘You must be,’ said the Cat, ‘or you wouldn’t have come here.’Īs in Wonderland, so in Gormenghast. ‘Oh, you can’t help that,’ said the Cat: ‘we’re all mad here. ‘But I don’t want to go among mad people,’ Alice remarked. There are similarities, to be sure, in Dickens’ genius for soap-opera, Carroll’s brilliance for turning everything topsy-turvy, and Peake’s visionary masterpiece. Perhaps if Dickens had grown up in a haunted castle set in an imaginary land, and co-authored his books with Lewis Carroll, they might have given birth to something similar. Once you get lost as a watcher and wanderer in the vast and dripping halls of Gormenghast, there really is nothing like it. (Disclosure: I worked for a long time with abused and traumatised children so I have no sense of humour when it comes to hurting them, whether they are real or imagined.) From this point on, I was able to enter into the spirit of the novel.

Alas, Keda entered the picture not long after the point where I’d left off! Keda is selected by Nanny to be the nursemaid of Baby Titus, so I could stop worrying that he would be dropped on the stone floor of the castle again, only to have his parents and most of the other adults in the room stare with indifference at his crying. After receiving it and noticing its beauty, I could not wait to resume the story. In the meantime, I ordered this grand illustrated hardcover. I set it aside thinking I might try again later when not in midwinter. Early on in the story, there seemed not to be a single ray of mercy, kindness, love, or hope breaking through the grim darkness. I am not sure if this was due to listening to an audio version, which sometimes works for me and sometimes not, or something else, but mostly, I believe that it was the loathing and malice of the characters towards one another that put me off. Villainous Steerpike seeks to exploit the gaps between the formal rituals and the emotional needs of the ruling family for his own profit.’ A grand miasma of doom and foreboding weaves over the sterile rituals of the castle. Here is the blurb for that part of the trilogy, for anyone not familiar with it: ‘Titus Groan starts with the birth and ends with the first birthday celebrations of the heir to the grand, tradition-bound castle of Gormenghast. The Illustrated Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn PeakeĪh, Gormenghast! I (td) have only got through Titus Groan, so far, which is the first book of the trilogy. Book review: The Illustrated Gormenghast Trilogy, by Mervyn Peake td Whittle Posted on July 28, 2017

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