Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Gormenghast
    Gormenghast
    Gormenghast
    Audiobook (abridged)4 hours

    Gormenghast

    Written by Mervyn Peake

    Narrated by Rupert Degas

    4.5/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    Titus, Earl of Groan, is becoming aware of a world beyond the suffocating confines of Gormenghast, bound by centuries of tradition into a pattern of decaying rituals. He yearns for freedom. Meanwhile the amoral Steerpike continues to forge his way into a position of power, leaving death in his wake and nearly dying in the process. But his rise places him at odds with Titus himself; and only one will survive. This award-winning sequel displays all of Mervyn Peake’s imaginative brilliance in creating and sustaining the extraordinary world of Gormenghast.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNaxos Audiobooks
    Release dateApr 1, 2011
    ISBN9781843795391

    More audiobooks from Mervyn Peake

    Related to Gormenghast

    Related audiobooks

    Fantasy For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      100 Best Fantasy Books Of All Time

      Oct 23, 2020

      100 Best Fantasy Books Of All Time
      27 min read

    • Article

      Joe Abercrombie

      Sep 11, 2019

      It’s one of the hallmarks of a certain kind of fantasy that it appears to take place in an unchanging world of foundling princes, wizards and dark lords. Joe Abercrombie, for one, isn’t too keen on this idea. “I was always a bit frustrated by the san

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Witch Finders

      Jul 16, 2020

      Beth pulled her cloak tightly around her. It was the very last day of October and the air was damp and chill. Dead autumn leaves lay in deep piles in the woods and smoke curled into the night air from her cottage. Not far to go now. She bent her head

      4 min read

    • Article

      Nick Laird

      Dec 15, 2017

      I was trying to write like an adult.I had children.I was at the end of something. As I waited at my table by the window for the coffee,I saw that the sirocco had depositeda scrim of dust on the sill overnight,and it was the dark red of powdered blood

      3 min read

    • Article

      Yara And The Witch Queen

      Oct 1, 2019

      I knew the dangers of witchcraft. My parents had told me about the time before I was born, when magic plagued our desert kingdom of Bahati. Untrained witch doctors trying to cure warts ended up paralyzing their patients or turning them into crocodile

      10 min read

    • Article

      HERNAN BAS New and Recent Work

      Dec 15, 2018

      HERNAN BAS New and Recent Work
      6 min read

    • Article

      Cul-de-Sac

      Dec 1, 2021

      That old rage for order: how my father drove a square mouthed mower over-and-back, over-and-back, each row of neatly trimmed grass cut just like he told his barber: boy’s short, regular. O pioneer, taming this joke bit of prairie, no bindweed or dog

      5 min read

    • Article

      Let’s Play Dead

      Mar 3, 2020

      There was a man, let’s call him Henry VIII. There was his wife, let’s call her Anne B. Let’s give them a castle and make it nice. Let’s give her many boy babies but make them dead. Let’s give him a fussy way of being. Let’s make her smart and sneaky,

      17 min read

    • Article

      Retriever of Souls

      Nov 25, 2021

      What they don’t say is that, sometimes God will call you to the wilderness, gesture toward the trees, and then, hang back and wave you on alone. —“Prayer for the Wretched Among Us” from The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded At nig

      18 min read

    • Article

      Suspicious Circumstances

      Aug 10, 2022

      Suspicious Circumstances
      7 min read

    • Article

      Suspicious Circumstances

      Aug 10, 2022

      Suspicious Circumstances
      7 min read

    • Article

      Equinox

      May 18, 2022

      In this strange world, where identities change with the rising and setting of the sun, supernatural forces are at work – and they’re causing trouble… St Leonars prison was an appropriately imposing building. It rose out of the surrounding shacks and

      5 min read

    • Article

      Perfect Prose II

      May 15, 2020

      Perfect Prose II
      4 min read

    • Article

      Two Poems by Phillip B. Williams

      Dec 15, 2017

      The masters are yet dead. Wanting to be human,I tried to rewrite The Waste Land. The canon’s reachcasts ruinous light. The masters’ pens breachthis page where, above, my own hand spectates. Babylonrisen, exorcism in reverse, whose nature upended now?

      6 min read

    • Article

      Estella’s Fate

      May 17, 2023

      Estella’s Fate
      7 min read

    • Article

      Estella’s Fate

      May 17, 2023

      Estella’s Fate
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Nightingale

      May 1, 2019

      The Nightingale
      10 min read

    • Article

      Six Poems

      Feb 28, 2023

      Dear C, At first Virgil’s poem is quite dull; equivocalnames of products at The Container Store: Elfa White Medium Drawer, Mesh NarrowRolling Cart (Medium Solution), Narrow Classic Mesh Box and the number of pirouetting starseach product attained. An

      5 min read

    • Article

      Shelter

      May 28, 2022

      Shelter
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Gormenghast

    4.5/5

    672 ratings25 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I was looking for something new to read and found the 2nd volume of the Gormenghast trilogy in my bookshelf. I had to start with that, because I didn't seem to own a copy of the first or last volumes (which I've now reserved from the library). The thing that made me impatient to start reading it, even though I was starting form the wrong book, was the extraordinarily atmospheric vocabulary. It's almost as if Peake compiled a list of words which embodied exactly the atmosphere he wanted to produce, and worked with that throughout writing the whole book so this vein of absolute consistency in style runs through the whole thing. For example, in describing the color of Steerpike's eyes, he refers to them as 'the color of dried blood'. Another author might have said 'rust colored', but that wouldn't have been in keeping with the atmosphere, which to me has that thick, almost drugged feeling that one experiences in very vivid dreams.Another thing I loved about the writing style was the rich, lengthy descriptions. Some people might find this tedious, I'm guessing (just from reading the other reviews on here) but description - preferably focussing on minute details - is one of my favorite things in writing, both as a reader and author. I can't wait to read the other volumes.
    • 5/5
      Does anyone know why this version of the audio book is only 5 hours but the audible version is 17 hours?
    • 5/5
      Absolutely loved it!
    • 3/5
      The story sounded interesting, but the reader is making it hard to continue. I can't even understand what Mr Flay is saying at all. There is such a thing as TOO theatrical. Guess I'll just find the book version.
    • 3/5
      This is an abridged version, many of the best parts are missing!
      Skip this and find the unabridged version!
    • 4/5
      My feelings on this book run so hot and cold! And I do not have time to do thousands of pages justice in this short review, so here is a smattering of random thoughtsThe good:There are shining bits of artist's prose that stay with you forever. The flight of herons, the forgotten halls under the castle, a shaft of sunlight on brickwork. By the final fight between Titus and Steerpike, I couldn't put the book down.There are characters I love in it. The mighty countess, fighting danger, saving Gormanghast from the flood. The kind Doctor. Fuchsia, oh Fuchsia, naive and romantic and passionate. The bad:If as a feminist you want to talk about how annoying it is when horrible things happen to women just because it's convenient for character growth in some male protagonist, this is an excellent book which will give you more examples than you ever really wanted.The oscillation between the schoolroom farce and courtship of Irma and the main plot of dark murders and angst has some rapid lurches in tone.Steerpike is clearly the Evil Villain, but also clearly the most interesting character in the book, far more so than Titus. When your reader's sympathies find themselves straying towards the youth who burns people alive and leaves elderly women starving to death you know you have a problem with likable characters.
    • 4/5
      Second book finds Titus rebelling against the castle. He finds Flay. He loses his sister. Listened to audio read by Simon Vance. Good job! Gormenghast is the name of the castle which is by its description, gothic and has a medieval feel to it. The castle is remote and surrounded by topography that protects it or holds the inhabitants from the outside world. It is surrounded by water; seas, rivers which makes it an island of stone amid water which plays a key role in the story. The impression is that Gormenghast is stagnant, insular and introspective. The inhabitants engage in pointless rituals that they have long forgotten the purpose. In the second book, Titus is a young He of 7 in the beginning of the second book and 17 at the end. Titus does not want to continue in the endless and pointless rituals. Steerpike is the other main character and is the second to Barquentine who is master of ritual. There is quite a bit murder and violence in the novel. British author, died before the completion of his series. The last book was completed by his wife.
    • 5/5
      A fantasy written for the complex minds of adults; what a concept!

      The hormone levels in this novel are low enough to be fatal to any Sarah J Maas heroine; they'd just wither and crumble (((((((((((in an elegant, luxurious and opulent way, of course!))))))))). For some reason Peake forgot to add the token badass female character. Oddly enough, this book does not end with a group of amazing teenagers saving the world from ultimate evil.

      That's right, in the past, authors were capable of writing books that weren't complete formulaic, egregious shit. Publishers actually paid professionals to edit the books for quality control and the best reading experience. Not that the publishing industry needs to worry, I stopped eating at McDonalds in 1985 and they're still in business. So continue to produce those fine, high quality McBooks to meet the demands of the masses for easy, nutrition-free, fast, fast, fast consumption!

      I'll be fine. I have two shelves of books ready for me to read. Second-hand books purchased from small sellers who understand the obscure tastes of discriminating readers. I prefer to spend my big, fat, middle-aged discretionary income with those types of businesses. As a result, I get five to ten used books for the same price as a new book. The quality of the material I receive is far greater in proportion than the quantity.

      Plus, I plan to re-read this book.........multiple times........because it's complex........and beautifully written..........full of bizarre and wonderful characters. I loved this book.
    • 4/5
      Loved it when I read it, but probably wouldn't now.
    • 4/5
      2nd in the Gormenghast trilogy - better than the first which was very good. Eager to move onto book 3!
    • 5/5
      I was looking for something new to read and found the 2nd volume of the Gormenghast trilogy in my bookshelf. I had to start with that, because I didn't seem to own a copy of the first or last volumes (which I've now reserved from the library). The thing that made me impatient to start reading it, even though I was starting form the wrong book, was the extraordinarily atmospheric vocabulary. It's almost as if Peake compiled a list of words which embodied exactly the atmosphere he wanted to produce, and worked with that throughout writing the whole book so this vein of absolute consistency in style runs through the whole thing. For example, in describing the color of Steerpike's eyes, he refers to them as 'the color of dried blood'. Another author might have said 'rust colored', but that wouldn't have been in keeping with the atmosphere, which to me has that thick, almost drugged feeling that one experiences in very vivid dreams.Another thing I loved about the writing style was the rich, lengthy descriptions. Some people might find this tedious, I'm guessing (just from reading the other reviews on here) but description - preferably focussing on minute details - is one of my favorite things in writing, both as a reader and author. I can't wait to read the other volumes.
    • 5/5
      Gormenghast is the middle part of a trilogy, and you should read Titus Groan first if you haven't already. It took me a long time to warm up to Titus Groan and I only got hooked about half-way through. At first I didn't like any of the characters, and Peake's style is forbidding at times. The pace is beyond leisurely--Peake takes his time. He was a visual artist and at times you can practically feel the detailed brush work in his word pictures that use a rich, sometimes abstruse vocabulary. It's the kind of narrative for which you have to have patience, but is rewarding because the imagery is so vivid. So, having been won over to the style and gained favorites among the characters, I expected to fall right into the sequel. I didn't find that to be the case, I think because the very characters I was most attached to weren't featured much in the first 100 pages--one of them didn't appear until well after that mark. Instead a whole new cast of characters appeared. Titus was barely over a year old at the end of the first book--at the start of this book he's now he's seven-years-old--a schoolboy--and we get to meet his professors. It was amusingly Hogwartesque, especially as we get in one chapter a game with boys flying in the air (sans magic) with the star player sporting black hair and a birthmark on his forehead. And the outcome of that game... well, it produced a rather macabre giggle. Then there was this moment with Titus and his sister Lady Fuchsia bonding... And well, by the time we get to the scene with Titus playing marbles with the elderly headmaster and Dr Prune, I was once again enthralled. In fact, I'd say I liked this book a tad more than the first volume.And I have to say, while I wouldn't precisely say I was fond of him, I increasingly found Steerpike one of the most fascinating villains in fantasy literature. He'd be admirable were he not so evil--brilliant, cunning, brave, athletic and ambitious--he makes Rowling's Lord Voldemort look like a crude amateur. And he and Titus were interesting foils for each other.So, now on to Titus Alone, the last part of the trilogy. It's about half of the size of the first two books, and I have it on good authority it's even weirder!
    • 5/5
      '… when, before a masterpiece, the acid throat contracts, and words are millstones…' - p.535 of the Illustrated Trilogy‘Words are millstones’ – too true, and Peake’s Gormenghast, being a masterpiece, presents one with an equally weighty task when trying to review it. The second book in what is erroneously known as the ‘Gormenghast Trilogy’ (it is not a trilogy, and Peake preferred to call them the Titus novels), Gormenghast continues the story of Titus Groan, 77th Earl of Groan, from his seventh year up to his coming of age. It portrays Titus’ development from callow youth to rebellious adolescent, ending with what Peake describes as Titus ‘outgrowing his kingdom’. There are also various subplots that illuminate the themes of loyalty and rebellion, from the continued rise of the main antagonist, Steerpike, to a delightful (if indulgent) subplot involving the faculty of Titus’ educators, in which his headmaster, Bellgrove, finds love in the most unexpected of places.Like Titus Groan, the first book in the cycle, Gormenghast is mainly concerned with an exploration of character: it has even been called a ‘fantasy of manners’. You will find neither magic in the novel, nor such pseudo-medieval accoutrements as knights or wizards. There is no map at the beginning of the book. You will search in vain for elves, dwarves or dragons. Peake writes more in the tradition of Dickens than Tolkien, although to say he writes in a tradition is misleading. Nothing quite resembles Gormenghast, not even the other two books in the series. Whereas Titus Groan was a much more contained novel, relating only about a year’s action, Gormenghast stretches the bounds of the Bildungsroman, while Titus Alone will go off on a whole other tangent, with its theme of the stranger in a strange land. Gormenghast is hard to describe, except as the emanation of a truly original mind.Peake writes with the eye of an artist, which he was. But he is more than merely a good setter of scenes. He is equally adept at creating tension, eliciting emotion, and plotting his novel. The book can also be unexpectedly funny – Peake likes to tease the reader with his wordplay, but also with straight-faced asides that can be hilarious. For instance, in this passage, the young students of Gormenghast are playing an illicit game with hand-held catapults:'There had been a time when clay – and even glass marbles were used; but after the third death and a deal of confusion in the hiding of the bodies, it was decided to be content with paper bullets.'This is so unexpected, and delivered with such deadpan seriousness, that I could not help but roar with laughter. The image of seven-year olds nonchalantly disposing of the bodies of their classmates – with a ‘deal of confusion’, at that – tickles the sadist in me, I guess. But Peake can also be heart-achingly sombre and serious. The fate of Fuchsia, Titus’ dreamy, awkward sister, had me in tears near the end of the book. This is thanks to Peake’s amazing skill at characterisation: he draws out the peculiarities of each of his cast, forming fully-rounded personalities. My favourite character has to be Dr. Prunesquallor. Not only is he a hilariously verbose dandy, but he is also a man of discerning tastes and extreme intelligence, with a compassionate heart to boot.The two main characters, according to my interpretation of the book, are Titus and Steerpike. They represent opposites who are, however, subtly intertwined. Titus, the privileged golden boy, seems a far cry from Steerpike, the former kitchen boy who, through deceit and skulduggery, scaled his way to a position of rank in the Gormenghast hierarchy. They are both, however, rebels at heart, willing to subvert the ancient laws of Gormenghast to reach their goals. Yet there are differences between them even on this front, differences of method and scale. Whereas Steerpike is willing to do anything to gain stature, with rebellion serving only as a means to an end, Titus only wishes to escape the deadening influence of Gormenghast and its superfluous rituals. Steerpike is brilliant, but, to take an image from Terry Pratchett, he is brilliant like the shards of a smashed mirror, all twinkling with bright points of light, but irrevocably broken. Titus is humane and caring, if somewhat confused and powerless throughout much of the novel. By the end of the story, he will have gained his independence from Gormenghast, but not without paying the cost of innocence lost.As I said at the beginning of the review, Gormenghast is a masterpiece. It has minor flaws – Peake can stray into some seemingly pointless plotlines, and he is not immune to the odd bit of purple prose – but these flaws are really part of the charm of the work. They highlight the risk of absurdity and irrelevance that Peake walked in writing such an original work. The fact that he manages to pull off this tightrope act with the barest hints of overbalancing only emphasises what a brilliant fantasist he was.
    • 5/5
      my favourite volume of the trilogy, so eventful, suspenseful, and where the admirable Gertrude (I think she's my fave character) is transfigured into a monument of determination.
    • 1/5
      Not my cup of tea at all. Got about 100 pages in and wanted to throw it against the wall. One of the only books I've ever failed to complete.
    • 3/5
      There seemed to be a lot more scope for entertainment in this, the second book in the trilogy. For a start, we are introduced to the staff of the local school for the first time. This leads to surely the funniest single scene in the entire series - where the teacher wakes up having fallen asleep in the middle of a lesson to see.......well, I can't spoil it, but it was well worth reading.On the other hand, some parts of the story seemed to go on much too long (in particularly the will-he-or-won't-he-drown section, which lasted so long I almost lost the will to live). I haven't yet read the last in the series but may well do so one day.
    • 4/5
      This could have been even better than Titus Groan, because when it comes to epic life--the return and grim fal of Flay, the Golem of Gormenghast; Titus's great allegorical sexual encounter with the Thing in the cave; (heart pounding, full of hate, breathing in water), Steerpike's last stand. I will not forget these characters.

      But Peake doesn't seem to know if he wants allegory, high satire, or low parody, and all to often settles for the last in a grimy ramshackle way that the "Fantasy of Manners" label I see applied to this book does only so much to excuse. I'll give fantasy of manners to Fuchsia, and maybe (maybe) Irma Prunesquallor and Bellgrove, although Peake all too often seems to be looking down his nose Britishly at their marriage with sneery vignettes, rather than the good-humoured touch they demand. But the schoolmasters and pupils, the way they intrude like broken-record trash knockoffs of the sort of just-over-the-top public-school parody you might see in e.g. Waugh, the way you're constantly invited to take this book seriously and then get your nose pushed into turgid slapstick comedy, is demoralizing.

      And it saps the book's might to an extent. Too much of the time you feel like they could all be called Prunesquallor. Peake should have decided whether he wanted a Jungian fable or credit for preemptively writing Pink Floyd's The Wall, and then stuck with it.

      And Titus is a cipher, grimmer than Prince Hal or Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime and that's all. He has another chance to shine, though, in book 3, and by the end of this one I was starting to care a little. But I think Peake wants me to think "Can he be free?", when I really just think "Will he turn out to be damaged goods?"

    • 4/5
      This is a unique coming of age story, with Peake's Dickenslike characters and the brooding castle the overshadows everything. The plot itself unfolds slowly, both in pages and in years, but this was not a detriment as the reader knows what the expect in the second novel of the trilogy. In many ways it is even more bizarre than the first book, but that is part of the appeal.
    • 3/5
      Reviewed Feb 2005 In this second novel by Peake the author becomes more detailed and numbers his chapters instead of titling as he did in his last novel. The story closely follows the movie it end with the Death of Steerpike and Titus leaving on horseback to seek his destiny. Oddly there is another novel "Titus Alone" I am curious to see what happens to him, but am almost afraid to read it as it probably deals with him just riding around - living off the land and finally coming back home ready to rule. I found the death of Fucia unnecessary and anticlimactic. As well as the character, "the Thing" what was that all about. Surly Titus could have learned about freedom some other way. As far as the story being believable it really reached to imagine that the valley and the castle could be flooded so quickly with little rain. The countess states to Titus that there is nowhere but Gormenghast, there must be other countries. Why is there no trade. where does the countess come from, what is her history? Were is Titus and Fucia supposed to find mates? He details the surroundings but never answers the basic questions. 6-2005
    • 5/5
      One of the best books ever written!
    • 4/5
      I'm so glad I discovered the Gormenghast series. Mervyn Peake is the most beautifully descriptive writer I've ever read. Gormenghast castle is as much of a character as the people in this novel. Gormenghast is the second novel in the Gormenghast trilogy, and it tells of the last days of the ancient Gormenghast line, as Titus, the 77th Earl of Gormenghast rebels against the life he is expected to lead, and Steerpike, the former kitchen boy, plots to take over all. This is a series I will definitely reread.
    • 5/5
      It doesn't have some of the big elements that I really enjoy in stories. There was really only one fantastic element in the book and though it was a bit of a tragedy it wasn't tragic enough to pull at my heartstrings.I definitely enjoyed it more than the first book but I may have read the first book too slowly. The writing is amazing. The style is unique. The characters are extremely colorful and ALL very memorable.I can see why something like this never goes out of print. It truly is a classic in a niche of its own.
    • 5/5
      Peake's Gormenghast series should be on the reading list of every serious fantasy fan. His descriptive writing is superb, and the combination of quirky, likable, and yet absurdly grotesque characters and gothic setting are truly unique. This book continues the adventures of the survivors from the cast of characters introduced in Titus Groan. It builds on the strengths of Book I, within the framework of a more conventional plot (with Titus as the protagonist and a much less ambiguous Steerpike as the villain). An assortment of professors are introduced as new characters to provide comic relief and an opportunity to observe Titus' growth and development. I found it a bit of a slow read, although there are several amazingly compelling scenes, ranging from the magical pageantry of Titus' birthday masque to the pulse-pounding pursuit of Steerpike through the labyrinthine passages of the castle. The Prunesquallors' soiree and subsequent love scene in the garden provided one of the funniest interludes I can remember reading.
    • 3/5
      Really enjoyed the first book, not so much the others because I didn't relate as much to the characters. Also, the mad owl earl was totally awesome.
    • 5/5
      This second volume it the Gormenghast Trilogy is as fine as the first, and together they make a good pair, a classic pair, a work of perfection. Consider the third volume a sequel, and the main tale as covered in "Titus Groan" and "Gormenghast." Oddly, the title of the first would have better covered the tale of the second, since this, "Gormenghast," is about the education of Titus Groan, heir to Gormenghast castle. A powerful, and truly odd and inventive book.