Gormenghast (series)
Gormenghast is a fictional castle of titanic proportions that features prominently in a series of fantasy works penned by Mervyn Peake.
Gormenghast is also commonly used in reference to this series, even though the castle is not present in the final book. In fact, Peake intended to write a "biography" of protagonist Titus Groan, not the castle's history, so it would make more sense to name the series after him. The cycle consists of three novels, Titus Groan (1946), Gormenghast (1950) and Titus Alone (1959), as well as a novella, "Boy In Darkness" (1956).
At least two other books, tentatively titled Titus Awakes and Gormenghast Revisited, were planned, but Peake's health complications and ensuing death prevented him from writing down more than a few rough chapters and ideas for these. A brief excerpt from what would have been Titus Awakes appears in the Overlook Press omnibus edition of the three main novels (ISBN 0-87951-628-3).
In 1984, BBC Radio 4 broadcast two 90-minute plays based on Titus Groan and Gormenghast, adapted by Brian Sibley and starring Sting as Steerpike and Freddie Jones as the Artist (narrator). A slightly abridged compilation of the two, running to 160 minutes, and entitled Titus Groan of Gormenghast, was broadcast on Christmas Day, 1992. BBC 7 repeated the original versions on 21 and 28 September, 2003.
In 2000, the BBC and WBGH Boston produced a miniseries, titled Gormenghast, based on the first two books of the trilogy.