Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake - Numbered Edition

Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake - Numbered Edition

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ESTIMATED PUBLICATION - Winter 2025

A masterpiece of fantasy, the Gormenghast novels by Mervyn Peake stand as one of the twentieth century’s most distinctive and imaginative achievements in fantasy literature.

Within the sprawling halls and serpentine corridors of the dilapidated Gormenghast Castle, the members of the Groan dynasty and their master, Lord Sepulchrave, grow increasingly out of touch with a changing world, as they pass their days in unending devotion to arcane rituals and traditions. As heir to the Earldom of Gormenghast, Titus is expected to one day rule the kingdom and its wayward subjects, but with the arrival of an ambitious kitchen boy, Steerpike, the established order is thrown into disarray. Over the course of three novels―Titus GroanGormenghast and Titus Alone―Titus must contend with a kingdom about to implode beneath the weight of centuries of intrigue, treachery, manipulation and murder. 

Titus Groan was first published in 1946 to ecstatic reviews. The publication of Gormenghast in 1950 and Titus Alone in 1959 cemented the series as a true classic of twentieth century British literature. Critics continue to praise the series for its iconic imagery and characters, and it is often cited as one of the greatest fantasy novels of all time. In their review, Punch called it “the finest imaginary feat in the English novel since Ulysses,” while editor Langdon Jones hailed it as “the sort of novel one remembers for the rest of their lives.” The New Yorker called the novels “a gorgeous, volcanic eruption… a work of extraordinary imagination,” while San Francisco Chronicle gave high praise to Mervyn Peake, claiming “his inventiveness, his ingenuity and his humor are astonishing.” 

The Gormenghast novels have had a profound influence on countless contemporary authors who have cited the books and Mervyn Peake amongst their greatest inspirations. The novels have been included in Fantasy: The 100 Best Books, Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels and 100 Must Read Fantasy Novels. In 1950, Gormenghast received the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, and in 1951 the Heinemann Award. The novels are #6 on Locus’s 1988 All-Time Best Fantasy Novels list.


Our edition of the Gormenghast novels by Mervyn Peake is presented in two states: Lettered and Numbered editions.


NUMBERED EDITION

  • 6” x 9” trim size.
  • 1312 Pages.
  • Limited to 250 copies.
  • Published in three volumes. 
  • First letterpress printed edition of the novels to be published.
  • Signed by Clare Peake, Tad Williams, China Miéville, Brian Sibley, Michael Moorcock and Jay Johnstone.
  • New exclusive introductions by Clare Peake and Brian Sibley.
  • Previously published essays by Anthony Burgess, China Miéville, Michael Moorcock and Tad Williams.
  • Includes Mervyn Peake’s 1956 novella, Boy in Darkness with foreword by Maeve Gilmore. 
  • Handbound millimeter style binding covered in Hahnemühle Bugra paper sides which are printed with an illustration by Jay Johnstone.
  • Imperial cloth, a finely woven fabric covers the spine and caps the fore-edge.
  • Spine and cover include letterpress printed Bugra labels.
  • Head and tail bands are handmade with cloth. 
  • Twenty color illustrations by Jay Johnstone were painted on vellum and scanned, maintaining the vellum textured background on both the front and back of the illustrations. 
  • Printed letterpress on Mohawk Superfine paper by Elias Routsom on a Heidelberg Cylinder in Middleborough, Massachusetts. 
  • Interior design & typography by award-winning designer Mark Argetsinger.
  • Text pages are set in Monotype Van Dijck with display type set in Flamande.
  • Included in each volume are the following fold-outs: Volume I – Gormenghast Map, Volume II – Family Tree, and Volume III – all three Numbered edition cover illustrations.
  • Housed in a clamshell enclosure covered in Halflinnen with Imperial cloth walls and velour lined trays, featuring a letterpress printed Bugra label on the spine.  
  • Bookmark with all pre-orders.

Published editions may differ slightly from mockups and prototype designs.
Illustrations © 2022 by Jay Johnstone.

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