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The History Of Titus Groan
The History Of Titus Groan
Oct 10, 2024 12:30 PM

Author:Mervyn Peake,Paul Rhys,Miranda Richardson,Carl Prekopp,James Fleet,Tamsin Greig,Olivia Hallinan,Full Cast

The History Of Titus Groan

Paul Rhys, Miranda Richardson and Carl Prekopp star in this major six-part BBC Radio Classic Serial based on the writings of Mervyn Peake and Maeve Gilmore.

The life and times of Titus Groan, 77th Earl of Gormenghast - a vast stronghold of crumbling masonry steeped in immemorial ritual and inhabited by an extraordinary cavalcade of characters including the kitchen boy, Steerpike, who ruthlessly rises to the upper echelons of dynastic power through mischief and murder. Based on the novels written by Mervyn Peake and on the recently discovered concluding volume, Titus Alone, written by his widow, the six one-hour episodes chronicle Titus' life from birth, through childhood and adolescence to his decision to renounce his title and embark on an exploration of the alien world beyond the confines of his home. It is a journey in search of identity that eventually takes him to a distant island where he encounters the man who is none other than his creator.

The 'Gormenghast' trilogy is both a powerful and unique fantasy and a satirical allegory on the fancies, foibles and phobias of the world around us, and this BBC Radio production brings Peake's extraordinary imagination to vivid life. Featuring a star cast including James Fleet, Tamsin Greig and Olivia Hallinan, it was dramatised for radio by Brian Sibley. The series was produced by Jeremy Mortimer.

Reviews

Huge...Precise and sensitive, sensible in sorting through some tricky issues and - not least - quite beautifully written

—— Greg Sandow , Scotsman

Exhaustive and eloquent

—— Michael Kimmelman , New York Review of Books

A masterly biography, both broad and deep

—— Peter Conrad , Observer

One of the finest music biographies of our age

—— Damian Thompson , Daily Telegraph

Whether taken on its own or with the first volume, this is a magnificent work of biography... A stunning achievement

—— Simon Heffer , Literary Review

Walsh's scrupulousness (also evident in this volume's predecessor) in contextualising and considering quotes, hearsays and other evidence reveals a more complete, complex picture... But what emerges most powerfully is a penetrating vision of a creative mind, of how it made its decisions and adopted its stances, of how, often, it didn't quite understand itself

—— Stephen Pettitt , Sunday Times

Walsh's eloquence, clarity and grasp of the composer's cultural milieu mean that this book is always gripping

—— Telegraph

"Must never end up like Bobby Gillespie" It's not a bad strategy for life, and happily one the ferociously talented Luke Haines continues to adhere to in his follow-up to Bad Vibes. Resuming from where that excoriatingly brilliant book left off...Grimly amusing.

—— Word

The angrier Mark Kermode gets, the funnier he is; good news then that this book is FURIOUS

—— Empire

[A] laugh-out-loud account that will tickle the funny bone of any film fanatic

—— Star

Witty and incisive

—— Choice

Cutting and witty

—— Loaded

[Kermode] clearly has a profound love of film and the depth of knowledge to go with it

—— Jeff Dawson , Sunday Times

An angry blast about the state of cinema-going

—— Christopher Fowler, Books of the Year: Cinema , Independent

Kermode sits in the stalls peeking through his fingers at what we’re served up on the silver screen and motormouthing about bad cinema in a frank and funny counterblast to all the Hollywood hype

—— Saga

The Good, the Bad and the Multiplex is the film critic’s anguished cri de coeur against overpriced 3D film tickets and soulless cinemas ... often very funny and enlivened with wonderful digressions borne out of a lifetime’s movie-going

—— Books of the Year , Metro

Difficult to ignore

—— Good Book Guide

a spritely, spirited tome ... with welcome doses of spicy self-deprecation and fascinating cultural history.

—— The Big Issue in the North
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