WRITER

Mervyn Peake

1911 - 1968

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Mervyn Laurence Peake (9 July 1911 – 17 November 1968) was an English writer, artist, poet, and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the Gormenghast books. The four works were part of what Peake conceived as a lengthy cycle, the completion of which was prevented by his death. They are sometimes compared to the work of his older contemporary J. R. R. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Mervyn Peake has received more than 692,314 page views. His biography is available in 23 different languages on Wikipedia. Mervyn Peake is the 4,442nd most popular writer (down from 4,242nd in 2019), the 864th most popular biography from China (down from 805th in 2019) and the 100th most popular Chinese Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 690k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 49.18

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 23

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 2.91

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.48

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Gormenghast
1950
Titus Groan
Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Comedy
This is the first of the Gormenghast trilogy and introduces the reader to Gormenghast Castle and its inhabitants. Lord Sepulchrave the Earl of Groan, his life an endless succession of meaningless rituals, Countess Gertrude, who spends her days secluded in her bedroom surrounded by cats and birds, her only source of pleasure. Their daughter Fuschia is there too, along with Sepulchrave’s eccentric twin sisters, Cora and Clarice and Mr. Flay, who leads Lord Sepulchrave through the interminable rituals of the castle. Into this world are thrust Titus, heir to the Earldom and Steerpike, a Machiavellian kitchen boy on the make.
1946
Titus Alone
Kings and rulers, Fiction
1973

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Mervyn Peake ranks 4,442 out of 7,302. Before him are Jakob Balde, Sophie Kinsella, Jafar Jabbarly, Johann David Wyss, Pierre Emmanuel, and Louis Paul Boon. After him are Hans Henny Jahnn, Alain de Botton, Rosemary Sutcliff, Quentin Crisp, Arthur Ransome, and Olaf Bull.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1911, Mervyn Peake ranks 227. Before him are Ellen Corby, Consalvo Sanesi, Luís Mesquita de Oliveira, Nikolai Kryuchkov, Martim Mércio da Silveira, and Aly Khan. After him are Romeu Pellicciari, Brigitte Horney, Mario Perazzolo, István Bibó, Grote Reber, and Gerhard Stöck. Among people deceased in 1968, Mervyn Peake ranks 158. Before him are Dorothy Garrod, Edna Ferber, Eben Dönges, Ruth St. Denis, Harry Stenqvist, and Jess Willard. After him are Norman Brookes, Enoch L. Johnson, Dorothy Gish, Antonio Pietrangeli, Mike Spence, and Marion Lorne.

Others Born in 1911

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Others Deceased in 1968

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In China

Among people born in China, Mervyn Peake ranks 864 out of 1,610. Before him are Wang Yang (1955), Zhong Nanshan (1936), Huang Ju (1938), Luo Ronghuan (1902), Chi Haotian (1929), and Hau Pei-tsun (1919). After him are Li Rui (1917), Dai Sijie (1954), Lang Ping (1960), Guo Boxiong (1942), Thomas Tien Ken-sin (1890), and Li Changchun (1944).

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Among WRITERS In China

Among writers born in China, Mervyn Peake ranks 100. Before him are Katherine Paterson (1932), Yan Lianke (1958), Ma Duanlin (1245), Hwang Sok-yong (1943), Yu Dafu (1896), and Chen Zi'ang (661). After him are Dai Sijie (1954), Wen Yiduo (1899), Can Xue (1953), Wang Guowei (1877), Lin Shu (1852), and Zhang Jie (1937).

Chinese born Writers

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