News: Mervyn Peake/Gormenghast/Titus Awakes

[opaloka]

http://www.overlookpress.com/upcoming/titus-awakes.html

Amazon has the release date set for July 7

Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy is widely acknowledged to be, as Robertson Davies pronounced, “a classic of our age.” In these extraordinary novels, Peake created a world where all is like a dream--lush, fantastical, and vivid. Yet it was incomplete. Parkinson’s disease took Peake’s life in 1968, depriving his fans of the fourth and final volume of the series, Titus Awakes except for a few tantalizing pages, after which his writing became indecipherable.

Maeve Gilmore, Peake’s wife, finished the novel, and now at last the fabled Titus Awakes is published in its entirety. Fans of Peake will delight in this new, wonderful tale, published one hundred years after Peake’s birth, every bit as thrilling and masterfully written as his famed trilogy.

[thingfish]

Cant wait for this Jason!!

[Julius Civilis]

Titus Awakes

Hi Mike/everyone,

I know that Mike is a big admirer and was a friend of Mervyn Peake. I've only read the first two Gormenghast books but I really enjoyed them. I just saw that a fourth installment is being released 60 years after Titus Alone, prepared from manuscripts that Peake was working on but had never finished. That seems pretty exciting. I'm guessing Mike might've already read this material but I was just wondering what his (or anybody's) thoughts on this are. Why has it taken so long? How much editing has had to be done and how much of the book is genuinely how Peake would have envisaged it? How did he work actually - like Mike -knocking work out fast and not doing much rewriting or was he more meticulous going and over and over the text? (that is how I imagine him writing from the deeply rich and subtle detail that he weaves together to create his world). I am also curious how Mike got to know Peake and how much influence he actually was - not just on Mike's writing but also on encouraging him in his writing career? Well, I guess I'm just in a curious kind of mood.......I'd welcome any thoughts on this. (Nearing the end of the Elric of Melniboné omnibus by the way and looking forward to getting back into some Oswald Bastable soon!)

[Michael Moorcock]

Titus Awakes is, a it says, by Maeve Gilmore, Peake's wife and as such is unlike the 3 previous books. I've reviewed it for the LA Times and the review link will be posted here when it comes out in July.

[Julius Civilis]

Well it seems that I somehow got the wrong end of the stick......I'll look out for the review. Thanks

[Blackbeard]

Instead of starting a new thread, it's worth mentioning this here too..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mr-Pye-DVD/d...8341846&sr=1-1

[The English Assassin]

I see that the hardcover of Titus Awakes doesn't seem to be available for pre-order on amazon. Which is a pity as I'd sooner a hardcover than paperback. Some how paperbacks don't seem very Gormenghast...

[Julius Civilis]

Maybe this isn't news to anybody else but I've also just found out that a new hardback illustrated ediition of the Gormenghast trilogy has been released just a couple of weeks ago with an introduction by China Mieville:

http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Go...8648989&sr=1-1

It is an eventful time for the series. I'm curious about the production quality of the new book and in particular whether the illustrations are by Peake himself. At the moment there are no reviews and you can only see the front cover on Amazon.

[David Mosley]

Just tagging this here, since it's tangentially related, but Clare Peake is a guest on this morning's Midweek programme (BBC Radio 4) where she'll be talking about her memoir of her father, Under a Canvas Sky. Listen live (or listen again later) here.

Apparently Radio 4 is broadcasting several programmes about Mervyn Peake and Gormenghast in this centenary year, including 'A Hundred Years of Mervyn Peake' and 'The History of Titus Groan' in the classic serial slot.

An extract for Under a Canvas Sky is available on the Daily *cough* Mail website.

[white wolf's son]

Thanks to all, I will have a read at Titus Awakes and see how it goes, I've pre ordered the Amazon paperback.

[Tom Murphy]

As I mentioned in another thread, I've finally got round to reading Titus Groan

I'm really enjoying it, but can't read even a sentence without hearing it as it would have been read by dear old Vivian Stanshall. Now that would have been an audiobook



Mike - if you're still looking at this thread - did you have much contact with Viv or the rest of the Bonzos down the years?

[Wanderlust]

Jeebus, Tom, but that would be amazing. Thought will likely never leave my head now. Also very interested to hear what Mike's response to your question might be.

[Michael Moorcock]

I'm sorry to say I did know Viv, though not well, and I didn't actually like him much, so I naturally wouldn't have the same enjoyment, but I see your point! Bob Calvert told a good Viv story of himself and Mr S, both of them high as kites, but I was also glad I wasn't on THAT houseboat.
Can't recommend UNDER A CANVAS SKY by Clare Peake enough. Completely without artifice, the most accurate of the Peakes I knew and full of love and good humour in spite of tragedy. A memoir of the 60s as well as of the Peakes. Tremendous.

[Kymba334]

Wow!

A must read for me though Time is my total enemy!

[Sir John Barbican Begg]

A Peake at the uniquely fantastical

A Peake at the uniquely fantastical

This month, just in time for the centenary of Peake's birth, we will see a fourth adventure, Titus Awakes, join the trilogy (Titus Groan, Gormenghast and Titus Alone). Sadly, it wasn't written by Peake; he died in 1968. But it's the next best thing, written by his widow, Maeve Gilmore...

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