Mervyn Peake, Titus Alone

G. Peter Winnington (Université de Lausanne)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1959

Places

China (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

Written during the mid-1950s, Titus Alone recounts Titus Groan’s experiences beyond the confines of Gormenghast, in a world that is more like our own, only a few years in advance, with pilotless, dart-like planes and remotely controlled spy-globes that can hover and whiz around a suspect person.

In the traditional picaresque manner, Titus enters a city by drifting down a river in a boat. He is rescued by Muzzlehatch who takes him to his private zoo, but Titus needs independence and soon walks out. As a vagrant without papers, claiming to come from some unheard of place with a name like “Gorgonblast”, Titus is seen as suspect, possibly mad. He starts to question his very identity. Arrested and imprisoned he is …

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578 words

Citation: Winnington, G. Peter. "Titus Alone". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 May 2006 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8369, accessed 27 November 2024.]

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