Titus Groan Audiobook By Mervyn Peake cover art

Titus Groan

The Gormenghast Trilogy, Book 1

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Titus Groan

By: Mervyn Peake
Narrated by: Rupert Degas
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $16.96

Buy for $16.96

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Deep in the labyrinthine corridors of Gormenghast Castle, a child is born. Titus, 77th Earl of Groan, is heir to arcane and all-embracing rituals that determine the activities of everyone from Lord Sepulchrave, his father, to the vast cook, Swelter, and the irrepressible Dr Prunesquallor. But not the steely and devious Steerpike, who will lie, cheat and even murder to get on.

One of the greatest feats of sustained imaginative writing, the world of Gormenghast Castle is brilliantly realised in this darkly fantastic novel. It's rich description and vivid characters make it one of the most enduringly popular works of the 20th century.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©1973 Mervyn Peake (P)2011 Naxos AudioBooks Classics Epic Fantasy Gothic Horror

Editorial reviews

Enter the world of Gormenghast - a vast, meandering city reminiscent of London or Byzantium. New to U.S. audiences, Peake's trilogy, aired on BBC Television in 2000, created a cult following in the UK. Rupert Degas acts out all the parts of this gothic novel with extreme characterizations, based on the BBC show, contrasted with lengthy spates of narrative. On the day Titus, 77th Earl of Gormenghast, is born, a young upstart named Steerpike escapes his hereditary kitchen job to change his life and fortunes. Steerpike encounters many characters, who get bold treatment from narrator Degas. The thick accents and dialogue take some getting used to, especially in the early scenes. Nonetheless, Gormenghast fans will love Degas's performance.
All stars
Most relevant  
One of my favorite novels rendered occasionally unintelligible by the over-the-top characterizations of the reader. Disappointing.

Unfortunate performance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A lovely, weird story. I loved the reader’s performance. Very visceral. It delivers a lot if impact and conveys the oddity of the book and its characters well.

Excellent story, engaging reader

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love this story and this narrator. but the pairing I hated. I felt like Rupert Degassing just had completely the wrong tone of the book, trivialising the characters. There is a crumbling solemn grace and heft to the characters as well as their very pronounced eccentricities.
Maybe others will like it. but it's just not my Gormenghast.

disappointing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I had always heard that if you loved classic fantasy then you must at some point read Mervyn Peake so this has been on my radar for years. First I attempted to read the book, but couldn't get into it, then I got the unabridged version read by Simon Vance and couldn't get into it. Finally, I had just listened to Rupert Degas superb readings of the Kingkiller chronicles and decided to burn yet another credit on the abridged version read by him, and still failed for me though I did finally make it through the 5 hour abridgement. I'm surprised this is viewed as such a classic as it's just all over the place, somber, and weird. Though I returned this book, I unfortunately bought an unreturnable version of the sequel beforehand that I'll never listen to. I'm not sure who the audience is who may love this story, but beware if you're considering trying them out.

Disappointment

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I literally can't understand this guy. The voices are bizarrely strong and very unpleasant to listen to. Big shame because the story is one of my favorites.

BAD CHARACTER VOICES

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love this novel, and indeed all the trilogy, so I was looking forward to a new reading. I was soon disappointed however. Within minutes, the silly voices and over acting began. Sadly I wasted a credit. The lesson learned? Check out the samples more thoroughly before buying. This reader should stick to his day job.

From the Ministry of Silly Voices

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

The story might be okay, many have said it is, but this narrator is dreadful.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I didn't get very far into the book before giving up on it so I can't fairly judge the story itself.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator attempts to whisper when it says the character whispers, groan or screech or cackle when it says the character did so. The result is a wheezing, groaning , inaudible mess which would require sitting with your hand on the replay button to decipher. I got half way through and abandoned the attempt to finish this book, something I've rarely ever done. It's quite simply the worst narration I've ever come across.

Very Hard to Listen To

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is supposed to be a very good book. And the narrator is great when using his normal speaking voice. But the character voices he does are so incredibly extreme that I've no idea what they're supposed to be saying. He makes them mumble, whisper, speak with a lisp, etc. so very strongly that they are mostly unintelligible. I'm frankly surprised the director of this performance allowed it.

Character voices are unintelligible.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.