Titus Groan grandiose wit which he uses on the castle's less intelligent inhabitants. Despite his acid tongue, he is an extremely kind and caring man who also is greatly fond of Fuchsia and Titus. (In a few places in the text, Dr. Prunesquallor is given the first name of Bernard, but this was an error by Peake.) He lives with his sister Irma Prunesquallor. Though she is anything but pretty, she is considerably vain. She desperately desires to be admired and loved by men. In this position, Steerpike is able to come into even closer contact with members of the Groan family,
Gormenghast (series) in modern world literature. "Gormenghast" is often credited as the first fantasy of manners novel. The books have been translated into over twenty languages. The series consists of three books, "Titus Groan" (1946), "Gormenghast" (1950), and "Titus Alone" (1959). A short book, "Boy in Darkness" (1956), tells the story of a brief adventure by the young Titus away from Gormenghast, although it does not name the castle. Peake had intended to write a series of books following Titus Groan through his life, as well as detailing his relationship with Gormenghast. At least two other books, tentatively titled "Titus Awakes" and