Introduction

Wildly prolific British novelist, poet, illustrator, painter, playwright, and set designer Mervyn Peake (1911-1968) is chiefly recognized for his contribution to the English literary canon consisting of three novels linked through the character Titus, the 77th Earl of Groan: Titus Groan (1946), Gormenghast (1950), and Titus Alone (1959). Significant elements of Mervyn Peake's life include a childhood spent in China with his missionary doctor parents, pre-WWII and post-WWII living experiences on Sark, an English Channel Island, his marriage to Maeve Gilmore and their three children, his profoundly disturbing experience as a WWII war artist chronicling the liberated Nazi concentration camp Belsen, and lastly, his premature, devastating, 10 year decline due to Parkinson's disease.

Scope

This pathfinder is intended for an undergraduate or graduate student with a curiosity about one of the 20th century's artistic geniuses. While Mervyn Peake's range of creative pursuits spans illustration, painting, playwriting, and poetry, he is most well known for his three novels about the young Titus Groan. Consequently, this pathfinder will largely focus on those prose endeavors while Peake's other creative outlets will receive more cursory attention. It is hoped that this pathfinder's exposure to Mervyn Peake's illustrations and poetry will inspire the reader to explore this realm further, since these forms of artistic expression generated the most renown during Peake's lifetime.

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Questions? Comments? Email Peter Hymas at hymas@email.unc.edu

Last updated December 10, 2003