Titus Groan (character)

Titus Groan is the title character of the first book in the Gormenghast series, "Titus Groan", and main character of the rest of the series ("Gormenghast" and "Titus Alone").

Titus is born at the beginning of the first book of the series, the son of Sepulchrave and Gertrude, and is an infant throughout the whole of Titus Groan (novel). He is heir to the Earldom of Gormenghast. He succeeds to the title of 77th Earl of Groan while still a child after the death of his father, but as he grows older, he develops ambivalent feelings toward his home and is torn between pride for his lineage and the desire to escape from the castle and its stifling traditions and rituals. Eventually, he flees Gormenghast after defeating Steerpike in battle.Titus discovers a steampunk like world outside of Gormenghast where the castle and its inhabitants are unknown.

Titus' character is one of yearning for freedom and the romance of being an ordinary person without the responsibilies the Earldom and the tradition that comes with it.

Titus features in another book called Boy in Darkness which is unconnected to the main story.

Features In

"Titus Groan" (1946),"Gormenghast" (1950),"Boy in Darkness" - a novella (1956),"Titus Alone" (1959)"Titus Awakes" - unfinished (1960)