About this title: Enter the world of Gormenghast...the vast crumbling castle to which the seventy-seventh Earl, Titus Groan, is Lord and heir. Gothic labyrinth of roofs and turrets, cloisters and corridors, stairwells and dungeons, it is also the cobwebbed kingdom of Byzantine government and age-old rituals, a world primed to implode beneath the weight of centuries ...
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Edition: [Rev. ed.].
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books, New York
Date Published: 1968
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. vol. II of the gormenghast trilogy; shelf and cover wear; edge wear; 12-27-07. 568 p. illus. 18 cm. Includes Illustrations. The 2d vol. of the author's trilogy, the 1st of which is Titus Groan, and the 3d, Titus alone. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Edition: First edition. Ballantine 1st revised ed. Oct 1968
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine
Date Published: 1968
ISBN-13:9780345276995ISBN:034527699X
Description: Peake, Mervyn. Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Nice Clean tight book-Minor shelfwear and previous owners name stamped inside. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Gormenghast Trilogy, 2. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: [Rev. ed.].
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books, New York
Date Published: 1968
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. 568 p. illus. 18 cm. Includes Illustrations. The 2d vol. of the author's trilogy, the 1st of which is Titus Groan, and the 3d, Titus alone. acceptable copy-- read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine (25790)
Date Published: 1976
ISBN-13:9780345257901ISBN:0345257901
Description: Pepper, Bob. Good. No dust jacket as issued. G+ 568 p. 1976 paperback edition from Ballantine (25790). GOOD PLUS. Bob Pepper cover, interior art by Peake. read more
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. 568 p. Includes Illustrations. 1st paperback edition from Ballantine (73008), 1968. GOOD, some water damage. Bob pepper cover art. The 2d vol. of the author's trilogy, the 1st of which is Titus Groan, and the 3d, Titus alone. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine (73008)
Date Published: 1968
Description: Pepper, Bob. Good. No dust jacket as issued. 568 p. 1st paperback edition from Ballantine (73008), 1968. GOOD only, reading copy. Bob Pepper cover, author interior art. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books, UK
Date Published: 1982
ISBN-13:9780140028904ISBN:0140028900
Description: Very Good. No Jacket as Issued. Light wear to the covers. Very mild page toning. Otherwise a clean copy with no creases to the spine. read more
Edition: First Ballantine Books Edition
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books, New York
Date Published: 1968
Description: (cover art by Pepper) Very Good. Ballantine 73008. October 1968. 1st printing. Eight pages of gloss black and white illustrations by the author. Reading crease on front cover along the spine. The spine is slightly concave with minor paper wrinkling. The back cover is creases. Light edge wear to spine and covers. Page tanning with edge browning. Slight twist to book from storage. read more
Edition: [Rev. ed.].
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books, New York
Date Published: 1968
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. (042009) Mass Market Paperback is in Very Good+ condition with rolled spine with slight slant, very light overall wear. 568 p. illus. 18 cm. Includes Illustrations. The 2d vol. of the author's trilogy, the 1st of which is Titus Groan, and the 3d, Titus alone. read more
Edition: First edition, first printing
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Ballantine
Date Published: 1968
Description: Vol. II of the Gormenghast Trilogy. Near fine stiff wraps with clean text throughout. Nicely illustrated by the author. Typical age tone. read more
"The Gormenghast books are considered to be the beginning of the 'mannerpunk' genre, and along with Tolkien, Moorecock, and Howard, Peake is one of the fathers of the modern Fantasy genre. Mannerpunk is a genre typified by complex psychology, plots driven by character interaction, and a strong sense of mood. It is also notable for the characters rather than the world being fantastical. In this sense, mannerpunk, and certainly the Gormenghast books, work in the vein of surrealism (meaning not 'unr...more The Gormenghast books are considered to be the beginning of the 'mannerpunk' genre, and along with Tolkien, Moorecock, and Howard, Peake is one of the fathers of the modern Fantasy genre. Mannerpunk is a genre typified by complex psychology, plots driven by character interaction, and a strong sense of mood. It is also notable for the characters rather than the world being fantastical. In this sense, mannerpunk, and certainly the Gormenghast books, work in the vein of surrealism (meaning not 'unreal', but 'more than the real'); not unlike the Russian Gogol.
The genre is based upon the works of authors like Jane Austen, the Brontes, Baroness Orczy, Swift, de Cervantes, and Dumas pere.
Peake himself was a polymath, excelling not only as an author, but a poet and artist. In fact, he has works hanging in Britain's National Portrait Gallery. As a poet, he has a mastery of language and conceit that places him above popular 'jingle man' Poe.
This makes him quite unlike Tolkien, whose long stretches of verse tend to be stilted and unfeeling. Then again, Peake is more passionate than than Tory Tolkien.
Despite his mastery of language and evocative characterization, Peake is not an easy read. Indeed, his thick prose and slow pace can quickly tire the mind. Like a skillful chess opponent, Peake demands much of his reader. He is not content to let the reader be a passive escapist, so his work engages and challenges. It would take a great and knowledgeable mind to meet each of these challenges on equal footing, but even we lesser minds may find amusement, shock, and beauty.
Peake's original idea was to chronicle the life of a character from birth to death. The first book deals with infancy. The second takes him into adulthood in a sort of bildungsroman. The third involves the adventures of young adulthood. Unfortunately, Peake's slide into dementia prevented any furthering of this vast and witty trove.
In literature, Peake may have come the closest to completing a book which balances complex psychology, deep character, poetic style, exploration of reality, and a surreal mixture reality and fancy. Peake's books were very audacious, and though he sometimes fails to reach his own lofty ideals, the really remarkable thing is that sometimes, he doesn't"
"I loved this book. It continues the Dickensian mode of the first book but with a steadily increasing sense of unease. The characters continue to develop and move off the page. Steerpike is one of the great villains of literature. His machinations are horrifying and inevitable as is his ultimate fate. The story should have stopped with this book since it is entirely satisfying."
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