Titus Groan the stultified Gormenghast society. Steerpike is Machiavellian in his rise, but he can also appear charming and sometimes even noble. The novel begins as the imperious and ritual-driven servant Mr. Flay seeks to tell someone new of the birth of an heir to the House of Groan in a remote part of the sprawling castle of Gormenghast. A son is born to Lord Sepulchrave, Earl of Groan and monarchical ruler of Gormenghast, and his wife, Countess Gertrude. He is named Titus and entrusted to Nannie Slagg by his indifferent mother. Nannie Slagg is an elderly, somewhat senile woman who serves
Titus Awakes Titus Awakes Titus Awakes is the editorial title applied to a novel being planned by Mervyn Peake at the time he became too ill to write, about 1960. It was to have been the fourth novel in the Gormenghast series, after "Titus Groan", "Gormenghast", and "Titus Alone". "Titus Awakes" remains unfinished, as the author succumbed to illness before the work could be completed. In the 1970s Peake's widow, Maeve Gilmore, wrote a version of "Titus Awakes" to which she gave the title "Search Without End". It runs to 65,000 words, as counted on the typescript that she asked Peter Winnington