Mervyn Peake





Mervyn Peake

Author profile


born
in Kuling, Jiangxi, China
July 09, 1911

died
November 17, 1968

gender
male

website

genre


About this author

Mervyn Laurence Peake was an English modernist writer, artist, poet and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the Gormenghast books, though the Titus books would be more accurate: the three works that exist were the beginning of what Peake conceived as a lengthy cycle, following his protagonist Titus Groan from cradle to grave, but Peake's untimely death prevented completion of the cycle, which is now commonly but erroneously referred to as a trilogy. They are sometimes compared to the work of his older contemporary J.R.R. Tolkien, but his surreal fiction was influenced by his early love for Charles Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson rather than Tolkien's studies of mythology and philology.

Peake also wrote poetry...more


Mervyn Peake isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but he does have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from his feed.
A rare exhibition of Mervyn Peake’s original work is to go on public display for the first time at Westminster Reference Library by Leicester Square from 3rd to 14th April 2013.Original paintings by Mervyn Peake, will go on display thanks to the generous loan of the work by the Peake family. Westminster City Council, with the support of Arts Council England funding, is hosting the special free... read more »
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Published on March 22, 2013 10:53 • 54 views
Average rating: 3.89 · 16,982 ratings · 1,162 reviews · 62 distinct works · Similar authors
Gormenghast (Gormenghast, #2)
3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 4,890 ratings — published 1950 — 45 editions
Titus Groan (Gormenghast, #1)
3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 4,974 ratings — published 1946 — 48 editions
The Gormenghast Novels (Gor...
by
4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 3,892 ratings — published 1968 — 18 editions
Titus Alone (Gormenghast, #3)
by
3.42 of 5 stars 3.42 avg rating — 1,685 ratings — published 1959 — 45 editions
Mr Pye
3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 312 ratings — published 1953 — 10 editions
Boy In Darkness: And Other ...
by
4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 123 ratings — published 1956 — 2 editions
Captain Slaughterboard Drop...
4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 88 ratings — published 1939 — 5 editions
Letters from a Lost Uncle
4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 80 ratings — published 1948 — 4 editions
Peake's Progress: Selected ...
by
4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 77 ratings — published 1978 — 8 editions
A Book of Nonsense
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 71 ratings — published 1972 — 6 editions
More books by Mervyn Peake…
Titus Groan Gormenghast Boy in Darkness Titus Alone
Gormenghast (5 books)
by
3.88041815400306 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 15,688 ratings
“Lingering is so very lonely when one lingers all alone.”
Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan

“We are all imprisoned by the dictionary. We choose out of that vast, paper-walled prison our convicts, the little black printed words, when in truth we need fresh sounds to utter, new enfranchised noises which would produce a new effect.”
Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan

“And now, my poor old woman, why are you crying so bitterly? It is autumn. The leaves are falling from the trees like burning tears- the wind howls. Why must you mimic them?”
Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan

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