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
Brian Sibley and "Gormenghast" for Radio 4, for which he received a Sony Radio Award in 1985. He returned to Peake's writings in 2011 with "The History of Titus Groan", a cycle of six one-hour plays for BBC Radio 4's 'Classic Serial' based on "Titus Groan", "Gormenghast", "Titus Alone" and Maeve Gilmore's "Titus Awakes". Produced Jeremy Mortimer, the series began transmission on Sunday 10 July with a cast headed by David Warner, Luke Treadaway and Miranda Richardson and won the BBC Audio Drama Award 2012 for Best Adaptation. Other major radio dramatisations by Sibley include: John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress"; Tolkien's "Tales