"A gorgeous, volcanic eruption . . . a work of extraordinary imagination." --New Yorker "The true fantasy classic of our time." --Washington Post "His inventiveness, his ingenuity, and his humor are astonishing." --San Francisco Chronicle A doomed lord, an emergent hero, an array of bizarre creatures, and an ancient royal family plagued by madness and intrigue--these are the denizens of ancient, sprawling, tumbledown Gormenghast Castle. Within its vast halls and serpentine corridors, 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 meaningless rituals and arcane traditions. Meanwhile, an ambitious kitchen boy named Steerpike rises by devious means to the post of Master of the Ritual while he maneuvers to bring down the Groans. In these extraordinary novels, Peake has created a world where all is like a dream: lush, fantastical, vivid; a symbol of dark struggle. Accompanying the text are Peake's own drawings, illustrating the whole assembly of strange creatures that inhibit Gormenghast. The Gormenghat Novels (which includes Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone) has been included in Fantasy: The 100 Best Books, Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels, and 100 Must Read Fantasy Novels as one of the greatest fantasy works of the twentieth century. Literary critic Harold Bloom has praised the series as the best fantasy novels of the twentieth century and it is often compared to J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Ring series. Breathtaking in its power and drenched in dark atmosphere, humor, and intrigue, The Gormenghast Novels is a classic, one of the great works of 20th century British literature. This edition includes introductory essays by Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange, and famed humorist Quentin Crisp.