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Titus Groan is a Gothic novel by Mervyn Peake, first published in 1946. It is the first novel in the Gormenghast series. The other books in the series are the novels Gormenghast (1950) and Titus Alone (1959) and the novella Boy in Darkness (1956).
At the beginning of the novel, two agents of change are introduced into the stagnant society of Gormenghast.
The first catalyst is the birth of Titus Groan, the heir to 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 to power drives the plot of Titus Groan. His escape from the kitchen during the castle's celebration of Lord Titus' birth introduces change into the stultified Gormenghast society. Steerpike is Machiavellian in his rise, but he can also appear charming and sometimes even noble.
On the same day as Titus' birth, an ambitious kitchen boy of seventeen by the name of Steerpike escapes from the kitchens and the obese, sadistic chef, Abiatha Swelter. Lord Sepulchrave's chief servant, Mr. Flay (Swelter's archenemy), comes upon Steerpike who has become lost in the confines of the castle, and takes him through the castle (large parts of which are uninhabited) to a room outside the quarters of the Earl and the Countess. Here, Steerpike takes the opportunity to spy on the Groan family.
Despite having led him there, the fiercely loyal Flay is angered by Steerpike's eavesdropping and locks him in a small room. Steerpike, however, escapes out of a window, risking his life above a sheer drop. He manages to climb up onto the roofs and towers of Gormenghast, and from there begins his rise to power.
After spending twenty-four hours clambering over the enormous castle searching for a means to enter, Steerpike manages to climb in through a window into the secret attic of Fuchsia Groan. Fuchsia, who has a great affinity to the large area of long-abandoned attic space she has had all to herself, is at first appalled and outraged by his entry. He senses the importance of her naivety and seizes her attention by putting on an elaborate performance. She is the first of the royal characters on whom Steerpike will use his cunning to exploit.
A while later, Steerpike accompanies Fuchsia to the house of Dr. Prunesquallor, and becomes his apprentice for a while. Dr. Alfred Prunesquallor is the castle's resident physician whom readers have theorised is perhaps based on the actor Ernest Thesiger, although this is unconfirmed. He is an eccentric individual with a high-pitched laugh and a 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. 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, in particular Lord Sepulchrave's twin sisters, Cora and Clarice Groan. The sisters are not very bright and are power-hungry and resentful, believing that Countess Gertrude holds the position that they rightfully deserve.
Everything goes according to plan: the entire Groan family (including the Earl and his heir) and all but one of the Domestic worker are saved. Sourdust, the old Master of Ceremonies, dies of smoke inhalation and all the books in the library are destroyed in the flames. This comes as a great blow to Sepulchrave, a rather melancholic man, to whom the library was the only joy in his otherwise monotonous life, dominated by the ritualistic duties he must perform every day, every week, every month and every year at appropriate times.
Steerpike hoped to become Master of Ritual (a very prestigious job in Gormenghast) after Sourdust died, but the title, like so many things in the castle, is hereditary, and so goes to Sourdust's seventy-four-year-old son Barquentine, who has lived almost completely forgotten in a remote part of the castle for sixty years. He is lame in his one leg, hideous, and unbelievably dirty. Barquentine is a consummate Misanthropy who only cares for the laws and traditions of Gormenghast.
During the weeks following the burning, Lord Sepulchrave becomes increasingly insane, starting to believe that he is one of the Death Owls living in the Tower of Flints, the tallest tower in the castle.
Things happen differently though: Steerpike, now a full-time retainer of the twins, having quit Doctor Prunesquallor's service, angers Flay by sarcastically imitating Sepulchrave's madness. Flay loses control and hurls one of the countess's white cats at Steerpike. At that moment, the Countess enters the room, and seeing that one of her beloved cats has been abused, immediately banishes Flay from Gormenghast.
Flay is forced to learn how to survive outside the castle, and he sets up various homes in the nearby forest and on Gormenghast Mountain. Having a strong attachment to the castle, and feeling a need to watch over Steerpike and to protect Titus, Flay returns secretly to Gormenghast during the night. Four nights after Titus’ first birthday, Flay finds Swelter wandering the castle with a meat cleaver. Swelter does not know of Flay's banishment, and expects him to be sleeping where he has always slept up until now. Flay follows him to just outside Sepulchrave's door, where Swelter discovers that Flay is not there, and soon realizes that he has been followed. Flay lures Swelter to the Hall of Spiders (making use of the fact that Sepulchrave—who is by now quite insane—is sleepwalking), and there they fight a long duel. Eventually, Flay kills Swelter. Lord Sepulchrave arrives on the scene, and decides that Swelter's body should be taken to the Tower of Flints. After helping Sepulchrave carry the body to the tower, Flay is ordered to stay where he is. The mad Earl babbles about possible reincarnation, bids Flay farewell, and then drags the body into the tower by himself and is attacked and eaten by the starved Death Owls, along with Swelter's remains.
After the disappearance of the Earl and the chief cook (the exiled Flay is not able to tell anyone what has happened), Steerpike leads a search for them. Naturally, their remains are not found, but Steerpike is able to gain a good knowledge of all the rooms in the castle. Flay lives in the mountains, making two caves and a shed for himself—living in seclusion but adept as a naturalist. He later witnesses Keda's suicide as she throws herself off a ledge. Initially just one of a number of minor background characters, Keda's story shows some of the world outside the castle, and her choices, journey and resolution are among the most emotive parts of the story.
Steerpike fears that Cora and Clarice are too careless and may tell others that he convinced them to burn down Sepulchrave's library. Steerpike dresses as Death and convinces the twins they will die if they ever speak of the fire. By this stage, Steerpike has considerable influence in the affairs of Gormenghast, even if he is not yet a recognised figure of authority. He still has to influence people to do his work for him. Despite this, both the Countess and Dr. Prunesquallor are disturbed and uneasy about all that has happened, and disturbed about Steerpike's sudden rise. Yet neither is able to connect Steerpike as the cause of the tragic events, as he was their apparent saviour from the fire in the library.
Soon afterwards, the "Earling" takes place, and young Titus is officially made Earl of Gormenghast. In a ridiculously elaborate ceremony on a nearby lake, little Titus holds aloft the sacred symbols of his status—the stone and ivy branch—and to the horror of observers, promptly drops them both into the lake. The scene is silent except for the shout of Titus and for the shout of Keda's unnamed baby, with a surrogate parent across the lake with the Bright Carvers.
In 2000, the BBC and the PBS station WGBH-TV of Boston produced a miniseries for television, titled Gormenghast, based on the first two books of the trilogy.
In 2011, Brian Sibley adapted the story again, this time as six one-hour episodes broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as the Classic Serial starting on 10 July 2011. The serial was titled The History of Titus Groan and adapted the novels written by Mervyn Peake and the concluding volume, Titus Awakes, written by his widow Maeve Gilmore. It starred Luke Treadaway as Titus, David Warner as the Artist and Carl Prekopp as Steerpike. It also starred Paul Rhys, Miranda Richardson, James Fleet, Tamsin Greig, Fenella Woolgar, Adrian Scarborough and Mark Benton among others.
There have been stage adaptations of Titus Groan, the most recent of which was by theatre company Blackshaw and debuted at the Actors' Church in London's Covent Garden in April 2012.
Prunesquallor's first name is also given as "Bernard" on several occasions in the text. Apparently this was an oversight by Peake.
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