Journal Articles

Binns, Ronald. Situating Gormenghast. Critical Quarterly, 21/1 (1979), 21-33.

[Davis Library 2nd Floor AP4 .C887 v.21 1979]

This article focuses in depth on the Titus Groan trilogy of novels and explores the tension between Peake's alternate universe of Gormenghast and his own troubled real world existence, particularly the influence of World War II and Peake's tragic decline brought upon by Parkinson's disease.

Gardiner-Scott, Tanya. (1987). Memory Emancipated: The Fantastic Realism of Mervyn Peake. Mythlore, 14/2 (1987), 26-29.

[Davis Library 7th Floor PN56 .M95 M9]

A very thoughtful article primarily concerning the 3rd of the Titus Groan novels, Titus Alone. The author rigorously analyzes the book through the eyes and memories of Mervyn Peake's unforgettable experience as a World War II war artist chronicling the survivors of the liberated Belsen concentration camp. Dread for the future of humanity and fear of his own fate (Titus Alone was written while succumbing to Parkinson's disease) are the weighty themes explored here.

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Gilbert, Charles. Mervyn Peake and Memory. London Magazine, 35/9-10 (1996), 69-80.

[Davis Library 7th Floor PR1 .L65]

Memory is a recurring theme among Peake scholars, particularly as Mervyn Peake was slowly robbed of his memory due to the onslaught of Parkinson's disease. This article illuminates the pervasive influence of Peake's childhood in China upon the creation of his alternate world of Gormenghast.

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Gunnell, Bryn. The Fantasy of Mervyn Peake. The Malahat Review: An International Quarterly of Life and Letters, 58 (1981), 17-35.

[Davis Library 2nd Floor AP1 .M3]

This writer analyzes the Titus Groan novels and their relationship to literature authored by Borges and Kafka as well as Peake's unfashionable (to English society at the time) nod to surrealism. While Peake channels his dismay with humanity through his novels, Gunnell attempts to dispel the pessimism and bring to light Peake's sense of (grim) optimism.

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Redpath, Philip. Mervyn Peake's Black House: An Allegory of Mind and Body. Ariel: A Review of International English Literature, 20/1 (1989), 57-74.

[Davis Library 7th Floor PR1 .R352]

An enlightening article concerning Peake's vivid imagination and its manifestation in the creation of Gormenghast. Redpath deftly explores the psychological aspects of Mervyn Peake's novels. Mervyn Peake was an outsider who sought out a "monk-like retreat from society whenever possible", yet his imaginary realm of Gormenghast is not an escapist exercise since it is still as violent, cruel, and disturbing as reality.

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