Gormenghast (series) a year later with his "Earling" or formal investiture as the seventy-seventh Earl of Groan, after the untimely death of his father Sepulchrave. As Titus is only an infant in this novel, he plays a minor role. The main plot therefore follows the somewhat bizarre inhabitants of Gormenghast Castle, and in particular chronicles the rise to power of Steerpike, a scheming kitchen boy. Steerpike successfully destroys the existing order of the castle by inciting the twin sisters of Sepulchrave, Cora and Clarice, to burn Sepulchrave's beloved library. This event drives Sepulchrave into madness and eventually into taking his own life.
Gormenghast (castle) Little Sark begins and the Bluff narrows'. the Coupée, Silvermines, Gory and Little Sark are all place names from the Channel Island of Sark, where Mervyn Peake was living at the time when he wrote "Gormenghast". The East Wing contains the library of Sepulchrave, the Tower of Flints, and various buildings, including an observatory, aviary, museum and pavilions for entertainment. Apart from the library however, all the other buildings have long since been abandoned and fallen into decay. The South Wing contains the rooms of the twin sisters of Sepulchrave, the Ladies Cora and Clarice Groan. Their quarters include the