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
Gormenghast (series) "Gormenghast Revisited", were planned but Parkinson's disease and Peake's ensuing death at the age of 57 prevented him from writing more than a few hundred words and ideas for further volumes. Only three pages of "Titus Awakes" were coherently written and can be found in the Overlook Press edition of "Titus Alone" () and in the omnibus volume (). In the 1970s, Peake's widow Maeve Gilmore wrote her version of "Titus Awakes", which she called "Search Without End". The Peake family rediscovered this book at the end of 2009 and it was published by The Overlook Press as "Titus Awakes: