A celebration with special guests Neil Gaiman, Liz Jensen and Chris Riddell

Mervyn Peake, who died 50 years ago this month, was a prolific and astonishingly original writer and artist. Best known today for creating the tangled world of Gormenghast he was also an accomplished painter, playwright, illustrator and poet. This celebration of his life and work includes contributions by writer Neil Gaiman, currently adapting Gormenghast for the screen, author Liz Jensen, and illustrator and writer Chris Riddell. With readings by Miranda Richardson.

As a part of this event, from 18.00, there will be a display of the maps and drawings created by Imogen Lesser Woods for her PhD. These architectural drawings have been formed from an analysis of Peake’s manuscripts and printed editions of Gormenghast and provide the foundations of her research into his spaces and their linguistic construction.

The British Library is home to the Peake Archive. 

With thanks to Clare Penate and Fabian Peake.

Image: Prunesquallors from Gormenghast courtesy of the Mervyn Peake Estate

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