Titus Groan

The book is set in the huge castle of Gormenghast, a vast landscape of crumbling towers and ivy-filled quadrangles that has for centuries been the hereditary residence of the Groan family and with them a legion of servants. The Groan family is headed by Lord Sepulchrave, the seventy-sixth Earl of Groan. He is a melancholy man who feels shackled by his duties as Earl, although he never questions them. His only escape is reading in his library. His wife is the Countess Gertrude. Large and imposing, with dark red hair, she pays no attention to her family or to the rest of Gormenghast. Instead, she spends her time either in her bedroom or in walking selected areas, in the company of a legion of birds and her white cats that alone command her affections. Their daughter is 15-year-old Fuchsia Groan. Self-absorbed, childish and thoughtless, she is also impulsive, imaginative and at times fiercely affectionate. Sequestered in the south wing of the castle are Sepulchrave's identical twin sisters Cora and Clarice Groan. Both suffered from epileptic fits in their youth, as a result of which their left arms and legs are "rather starved". They have the same vague and vacant personalities, lacking intelligence to the point of mental impairment. Both crave political power and bitterly resent Gertrude, believing that she robbed them of their rightful place in the hierarchy of Gormenghast and of any involvement in its affairs. Also important to the life of the castle is Lord Sepulchrave's personal servant, Mr. Flay, who believes in strictly holding to the rules of Gormenghast.

At the beginning of the novel, two agents of change are introduced into the stagnant society of Gormenghast.

The first catalyst is the birth of Titus Groan, the heir to Lord Sepulchrave, which interrupts the centuries-old daily rituals which are practiced at all levels of the castle's society, from the kitchens to the Hall of Bright Carvings in Gormenghast's upper reaches. Though he is the title character and integral to the plot, Titus appears only infrequently as an infant during his first two years of life.

The second is Steerpike, a ruthlessly ambitious kitchen boy, whose rise drives the plot of Titus Groan. His escape from the kitchen during the castle celebration of Lord Titus' birth introduces change into the stultified Gormenghast society. Steerpike is Machiavellian in his rise, but he can also appear charming and sometimes even noble.

The novel begins as the imperious and ritual-driven servant Mr. Flay seeks to tell someone new of the birth of an heir to the House of Groan in a remote part of the sprawling castle of Gormenghast. A son is born to Lord Sepulchrave, Earl of Groan and monarchical ruler of Gormenghast, and his wife, Countess Gertrude. He is named Titus and entrusted to Nannie Slagg by his indifferent mother. Nannie Slagg is an elderly, somewhat senile woman who serves as the nurse and mother figure for the Groan children. She is often unsure of herself, but relishes the small bit of power that comes with raising the heir to the house of Groan. Her first duty is to go to the dwellings of the Bright Carvers just outside the walls of Gormenghast to choose a wet nurse for Titus. Keda, the widow of a well-respected Carver who has recently lost a child from her late husband, volunteers to take on the role. Keda comes to live in the castle for a time helping to raise Titus. Later, she leaves the castle walls and is impregnated by one of her previous two suitors. The suitors promptly kill each other in a duel for her hand in marriage.

On the same day as Titus' birth, an ambitious kitchen boy of seventeen by the name of Steerpike escapes from the kitchens and the grossly fat, sadistic chef, Abiatha Swelter. Lord Sepulchrave's chief servant, Mr. Flay (Swelter's archenemy), comes upon Steerpike who has become lost in the confines of the castle, and takes him through the castle (large parts of which are uninhabited) to a room outside the quarters of the Earl and the Countess. Here, Steerpike takes the opportunity to spy on the Groan family.

Mark Robertson's cover illustration for the Mandarin paperback edition

Despite having led him there, the fiercely loyal Flay is angered by Steerpike's eavesdropping and locks him in a small room. Steerpike, however, escapes out of a window, risking his life above a sheer drop. He manages to climb up onto the roofs and towers of Gormenghast, and from there begins his rise to power.

After spending twenty-four hours clambering over the enormous castle searching for a means to enter, Steerpike manages to climb in through a window into the secret attic of Lady Fuchsia Groan. Fuchsia, who has a great affinity to the large area of long-abandoned attic space she has had all to herself, is at first appalled and outraged by his entry. He senses the importance of her naivety and seizes her attention by putting on an elaborate performance. She is the first of the royal characters on whom Steerpike will use his cunning to exploit.

A while later, Steerpike accompanies Fuchsia to the house of Dr. Prunesquallor, and becomes his apprentice for a while. Dr. Alfred Prunesquallor^[a] is the castle's resident physician. He is an eccentric individual with a high-pitched laugh and a grandiose wit which he uses on the castle's less intelligent inhabitants. Despite his acid tongue, he is an extremely kind and caring man who also is greatly fond of Fuchsia and Titus. (In a few places in the text, Dr. Prunesquallor is given the first name of Bernard, but this was an error by Peake.) He lives with his sister Irma Prunesquallor. Though she is anything but pretty, she is considerably vain. She desperately desires to be admired and loved by men. In this position, Steerpike is able to come into even closer contact with members of the Groan family, in particular Lord Sepulchrave's twin sisters, Cora and Clarice Groan. The sisters are not very bright and are power-hungry and resentful, believing that Countess Gertrude holds the position that they rightfully deserve.

Rottcodd: The curator of the Hall of Bright Carvings and the first character introduced in the series. Rottcodd lives the life of a recluse in the castle, rarely speaking to anyone and, when not dusting the statues at exactly seven o'clock, is usually sleeping in his hammock by the windowside. Flay feels the need to tell someone of the birth of Titus, and chooses Rottcodd, who is so cut off from the life of the castle that he is the only person left who has not heard the news. The book also ends with Rottcodd as he looks out the window at the entire population of the castle returning from Titus' Earling. Everyone had been invited except for him, as he had been forgotten.

Pentecost: Pentecost was one of the Outer Dwellers once, but worked himself up to become the head gardener of the palace.

The Poet: Known only by his professional name, the Poet holds a relatively important function of ritual in the castle. He is described as having a wedge-shaped head and a voice "as strange and deep as a lugubrious ocean". He is said to be the only person who can hold Lord Sepulchrave's interest in conversation. Steerpike comes across him on his journey across the rooftops, reciting a poem to himself out of his window. Upon realising that he has been overheard, the Poet wildly over-reacts, and tries to block up his window.

Rantel and Braigon: Keda's lovers, whose rivalry eventually leads to their death in a nighttime duel.

Bright Carvers or Mud Dwellers: Hereditary population of the extensive Mud Village situated up against and outside the walls of Gormenghast Castle, who are famed for their skill in woodcarving.

Springers, Spurter and Wrattle: Kitchen boys. Three of Swelter's helpers in the preparation of the Ceremonial Breakfast for Titus.

Wrenpatch and Flycrake: Kitchen boys. Swelter relishes the prospect of punishing them for arguing with each other, violating Swelter's strict orders for silence.

Grey Scrubbers: Hereditary cleaners of the Great Kitchen.

Old Man: Hermit, only known as "Old Man". He cares for Keda as she recovers from the rigours of her travels in the wilds.

Smelly Old Woman: The Ladies Clarice and Cora's only servant. Used by Steerpike as an example of just how low the status of the Ladies Clarice and Cora has fallen as he draws them into his power.

Pellet: Servant in the Prunesquallors' household. He is replaced by Steerpike at the instigation of Irma Prunesquallor.

Shrattle: Armourer. Holds the only key to Groan armoury.

In 1984, BBC Radio 4 broadcast two 90-minute plays based on Titus Groan and Gormenghast, adapted by Brian Sibley and starring Sting as Steerpike and Freddie Jones as the Artist (narrator). A slightly abridged compilation of the two, running to 160 minutes, and entitled Titus Groan of Gormenghast, was broadcast on Christmas Day, 1992. BBC 7 repeated the original versions on 21 and 28 September 2003.

In 2000, the BBC and the PBS station WGBH of Boston produced a miniseries for television, titled Gormenghast, based on the first two books of the trilogy.

In 2011, Brian Sibley adapted the story again, this time as six one-hour episodes broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as the Classic Serial starting on 10 July 2011. The serial was titled "The History of Titus Groan" and adapted the novels written by Mervyn Peake and the concluding volume, "Titus Awakes" written by his widow, Maeve Gilmore.[1] It starred Luke Treadaway as Titus, David Warner as the Artist and Carl Prekopp as Steerpike. It also starred Paul Rhys, Miranda Richardson, James Fleet, Tamsin Greig, Fenella Woolgar, Adrian Scarborough and Mark Benton among others.[2]

There have been stage adaptations of Titus Groan, the most recent of which was by theatre company Blackshaw and debuted at the Actors' Church in London's Covent Garden in April 2012.

^a Prunesquallor's first name is also given as "Bernhard" on several occasions in the text. Apparently this was an oversight by Peake.[3]