Mervyn Peake, Titus Alone

G. Peter Winnington (Université de Lausanne)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1959

Places

China (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Written during the mid-1950s,

Titus Alone

recounts Titus Groan’s experiences beyond the confines of Gormenghast, in a world that is more like our own, only a few years in advance, with pilotless, dart-like planes and remotely controlled spy-globes that can hover and whiz around a suspect person.

In the traditional picaresque manner, Titus enters a city by drifting down a river in a boat. He is rescued by Muzzlehatch who takes him to his private zoo, but Titus needs independence and soon walks out. As a vagrant without papers, claiming to come from some unheard of place with a name like “Gorgonblast”, Titus is seen as suspect, possibly mad. He starts to question his very identity. Arrested and imprisoned he is brought before a court where the buxom Juno offers to adopt him. They

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578 words

Citation: Winnington, G. Peter. "Titus Alone". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 May 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8369, accessed 16 April 2024.]

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