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 contract to depict various factory subjects and was also asked to submit a large painting showing RAF pilots being debriefed. Some of these paintings are on permanent display in Manchester Art Gallery whilst other examples are in the Imperial War Museum collection. The five years between 1943 and 1948 were some of the most productive of his career. He finished "Titus Groan" and "Gormenghast" and completed some of his most acclaimed illustrations for books by other authors, including Lewis Carroll's "Hunting of the Snark" (for which he was reportedly paid only £5) and "Alice in Wonderland", Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The