Titus Alone:
Titus Alone is a novel written by Mervyn Peake and first published in 1959. It is the fourth work in the Gormenghast series. The other works in the series are Titus Groan, Gormenghast, the novella Boy in Darkness, and the fragment Titus Awakes.
[edit] Plot summary
The story follows Titus' journey in the world outside Gormenghast Castle, having left his home at the end of the second book.
Finding himself lost, he suddenly discovers exactly how outdated his home really was, as he stumbles into a city of strange technological marvels, of shimmering metal and glass buildings, whose inhabitants travel by motorcar and airplane — and yet which also houses an entire culture of outcasts beneath the city itself in the "Under-River". The book also includes themes more usual to dystopian science fiction, such as marked inequality of wealth and involuntary euthanasia, and in many ways anticipates the steampunk genre.
Mark Robertson's cover illustration for the Mandarin paperback edition
Titus, wandering the nameless city, finds himself doggedly pursued by two kafkaesque helmeted figures and a shadowy "policeman" who is tracking him with nearly Javert-like tenacity for simple vagrancy. Befriending a local zookeeper, Muzzlehatch, and his former lover, Juno, Titus nevertheless finds himself more lost than ever, lacking any real sense of identity or direction.
The book has a climax of sorts after Titus incurs the wrath of Cheeta, the daughter of a powerful scientist, with his self-sufficiency. She contrives an elaborate plan to drive him insane by recreating Gormenghast horrendously, but is foiled by Muzzlehatch, who dies in the effort. Titus flees and spends months wandering a wasteland alone, until he comes across a large rock that he knew from his childhood. Hearing the guns of Gormenghast saluting the missing Earl, he is confirmed in his knowledge that he is not insane and that the Castle exists. Tempted to return to his duties, he nevertheless confirms his desire for independence and once again strikes off alone, this time in a different direction.
[edit] Critical reception
This last book is a strange and unpolished work, due to Peake's illness during its writing. The book's posthumous publication was met with scathing rejection by critics.
The first edition contains many changes wrought by a heavy-handed editor, including the omission of entire chapters. Critical reception has been more mixed since the complete novel was published.
[edit] External links
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