Steerpike Steerpike Steerpike is a fictional character in Mervyn Peake's novels "Titus Groan" and "Gormenghast". Steerpike might be called the antagonist of the Gormenghast trilogy, but in truth he is more of an anti-hero; the first book for example is largely focused on him, only covering the first year of the eponymous hero Titus's life. Steerpike could also be considered an archetypal Machiavellian schemer: a highly intelligent, ruthless character willing to justify any and all means to reach his end. In the books, Mervyn Peake describes his personality as follows: if ever he had harboured a conscience in his tough narrow
Gormenghast (series) "Gormenghast Revisited", were planned but Parkinson's disease and Peake's ensuing death at the age of 57 prevented him from writing more than a few hundred words and ideas for further volumes. Only three pages of "Titus Awakes" were coherently written and can be found in the Overlook Press edition of "Titus Alone" () and in the omnibus volume (). In the 1970s, Peake's widow Maeve Gilmore wrote her version of "Titus Awakes", which she called "Search Without End". The Peake family rediscovered this book at the end of 2009 and it was published by The Overlook Press as "Titus Awakes: