Mervyn Peake was an English writer, artist, poet and illustrator, born July 9, 1911 in Kuling, Jiangxi, China; died November 17, 1968 in Burcot, Oxfordshire, England. He's most known for the Gormenghast series: Titus Groan (1946), Gormenghast (1950) and Titus Alone (1959).