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
Mervyn Peake Drawings" (1965), and "A Reverie of Bone" (1967). After his death came "Selected Poems" (1972), followed by "Peake's Progress" in (1979 – though the Penguin edition of 1982, with many corrections, including a whole stanza inadvertently omitted from the hardback edition, is to be preferred). "The Collected Poems of Mervyn Peake" was published by Carcanet Press in June 2008. Other collections include "The Drawings of Mervyn Peake" (1974), "Writings and Drawings" (1974), and "Mervyn Peake: the man and his art" (2006). A collected edition of the works, issued to celebrate Peake's centenary year, has been announced for publication by Queen