Mervyn Peake

by John Watney

Frontispiece, table of contents, list of illustrations, bibliography, index. Black and white illustrations throughout. A biography of Peake 1911-68 , English illustrator and writer. 255+ 1 pages. cloth, dust jacket. 8vo..

Genres: Biography

255 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Frank Jude]

Published in 1976, this was either the first biography of Mervyn Peake, the English artist, poet, playwright, novelist and undeniably the greatest book illustrator of his time. He was obviously a man of prodigious talent, whose life reads like one truly from a different, more gentile time. Born in China in 1911, his father was a much loved missionary doctor. In 1923, the family returned to England, where the Mervyn lived a life filled with art and creative energy.

In many ways, he was a man out of time and not one who was at all proficient in the practical and prosaic. While serving in the war, Peake was illustrating books and began writing poetry and books for children, and eventually, he started his magnum opus, meant to be a multi-volume series following Titus Groan of Gormenghast from birth to old age. Sadly, a protracted illness that claimed his energy and eventually his life kept him from pursuing his plan. However, we have what is now referred to as the Gormenghast Trilogy. He barely finished the third book before dying at 57 years of age.

While his artistic talent was recognized at the time, and he claimed folks such as Dylan Thomas and Graham Greene among his supporters and friends, he lived with almost unrelenting financial stress, with his books only achieving success (they have been in print since his death) after he died.

It's not at all an exaggeration to say there are no other books quite like those he wrote.

[SpentCello]

I was quite young when I read the Titus trilogy, and it gave me a somewhat warped perception of what fantasy is like as a genre. I was completely drawn in by Peake's style and mood in much the same way I was by Edgar Allan Poe's, and Peake's work in particular has stuck with me vividly for more than a decade now. This is what lead me to pick up this biography of him. Unfortunately, it's a rather subpar biography, and makes an interesting life into a series of bland facts that are poorly strung together, interspersed with strange specific asides. I found the end part moving (although depressing) and it made me reflect on how important enjoying life is - I think this is where Watney's style worked well; the book didn't try and pull you in cheaply, instead, the stark simplicity made it seem all the more desolate as Peake's health deteriorated.

I still think there can be and are better biographies of Mervyn Peake out there, but I appreciated this dive into his life and the context of such an innovative trilogy I enjoyed many years ago.