Lady Fuchsia Groan on Gormenghast Mountain, at a site overlooking the Castle chosen by her mother, in a ceremony at which neither her brother the Earl, recovering as he was from the severe fever that followed his killing of Steerpike, nor Dr. Prunesquallor, who was caring for the Earl, could attend. It was immediately after a visit to her grave that Titus decided to abandon his hereditary responsibilities and go out into the world. In "Titus Alone", Fuchsia is one of the characters from the earlier novels mocked by Cheeta in the nightmarish scene that she puts on in the Black House (chapter
Mervyn Peake artist for he was keen to put his skills at the service of his country. He imagined "An Exhibition by the Artist, Adolf Hitler", in which horrific images of war with ironic titles were offered as 'artworks' by the Nazi leader. Although the drawings were bought by the British Ministry of Information, his application was turned down and he was conscripted into the Army, where he served first with the Royal Artillery, then with the Royal Engineers. He began writing "Titus Groan" at this time. In April 1942, after his requests for commissions as a war artist – or even