Titus Groan first catalyst is the birth of Titus Groan, the heir to Lord Sepulchrave, which interrupts the centuries-old daily rituals which are practiced at all levels of the castle's society, from the kitchens to the Hall of Bright Carvings in Gormenghast's upper reaches. Though he is the title character and integral to the plot, Titus appears only infrequently as an infant during his first two years of life. The second is Steerpike, a ruthlessly ambitious kitchen boy, whose rise drives the plot of "Titus Groan". His escape from the kitchen during the castle celebration of Lord Titus' birth introduces change into
Titus Groan original versions on 21 and 28 September 2003. In 2000, the BBC and the PBS station WGBH of Boston produced a miniseries for television, titled "Gormenghast", based on the first two books of the trilogy. In 2011, Brian Sibley adapted the story again, this time as six one-hour episodes broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as the Classic Serial starting on 10 July 2011. The serial was titled "The History of Titus Groan" and adapted the novels written by Mervyn Peake and the concluding volume, "Titus Awakes" written by his widow, Maeve Gilmore. It starred Luke Treadaway as Titus, David Warner