Mervyn Peake: The Man and His Art [Hardcover]

G. Peter Winnington (Author, Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2007

This new collection of illustrations, paintings, photographs, letters, notebook pages, and other material, some never before published, is a unique memoir of Mervyn Peake's life and work.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Writer-artist Peake (1911–68) seems ever about to be vaulted into the front rank of twentieth-century English artists. This marvelous album focused on his artwork may at last do the trick. His writing and the illustrative art for which he is best known are of a piece, balancing beauty and ugliness, humor and horror, sumptuousness and bleakness. Although he created gorgeous, romantic portraits, his famous figures are grotesques, descendants of Cruikshank's and Tenniel's in comic appeal; of Goya's monsters, berserkers, and victims in shock appeal—especially in a satiric World War II series representing paintings ostensibly by Hitler. His finest illustrations are those done for his own books, especially the trilogy of Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone that sustains his literary reputation, especially among the upper literary tier of fantasists. His son Sebastian collaborates with art consultant Alison Eldred and biographer G. Peter Winnington in juxtaposing generous portfolios of the art with a text including contributions by Peake's much younger writer friend Michael Moorcock and theatrical and film adapters of the trilogy as well as seven technically revelatory biocritical chapters by Winnington. As rewarding to the intellect as to the eye, this is a magnificent book. Olson, Ray

About the Author

Mervyn Peake was the author of The Glassblowers, Gormenghast, The Rhyme of the Flying Bomb, Shapes and Sounds, Titus Alone, and Titus Groan. He was awarded the W. H. Heinemann Foundation Prize by the Royal Society of Literature in 1950. G. Peter Winnington is the founder of Peake Studies, devoted to the work of Mervyn Peake and known as the leading authority on the writer and artist.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Peter Owen Ltd (July 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0720612845
• ISBN-13: 978-0720612844
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,573,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars About the Hardcover Edition..., June 17, 2011

By 

Theseus "theseus" (US of A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mervyn Peake: The Man and His Art (Hardcover)

A handsome and comprehensive book: hardcover, cloth over boards with a sewn binding, released with dustjacket.

216 pp on quality stock, 2.75 pounds. Color illustrations on every page: sketches, finished art, book covers, biographical photos. Bibliography.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
A Chinese Childhood

The Evolving Artist
Husband and Father
War Artist

The Titus Books
The Craft of the Lead Pencil
Illustrator

Mr. Pye
The Art of Mervyn Peake
Plays and Adaptations

The Last Years

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars must have for Peake fans, May 30, 2008

By 

Andrew Ice (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mervyn Peake: The Man and His Art (Hardcover)

This is by far the best collection of Peake's art . The reproduction quality is top notch, and there is much that I've never seen in any other book, and I think I've seen them all.
I've had this book for a week, and have already turned on 3 people who had never heard of Peake, just by leaving it out, and letting them flip through it. One ordered the book, and another was inspired to read the Gormenghast series, so what more can I say ?

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, March 1, 2011

By 

wide eyed child - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mervyn Peake: The Man and His Art (Paperback)

I couldn't agree more with the previous reviewer-this is a must have book for fans of the great Mervyn Peak. He was, quite simply, a genius on so many levels it is (and I say this without a hint of hyperbole) breathtaking. This book does a wonderful job of providing an excellent overview of his artwork. Heart-wrenching to think about what more he could have produced had he not been so cruelly taken by Parkinson's at such a young age.