Peake, Mervyn Laurence (1911–1968)

English writer and illustrator. His novels include the grotesque fantasy trilogy Titus Groan (1946), Gormenghast (1950), and Titus Alone (1959), together creating an allegory of the decline of modern civilization. He illustrated most of his own work and produced drawings for an edition of Treasure Island (1949), and other works. Among his collections of verse are The Glassblowers (1950) and the posthumous A Book of Nonsense (1972). He also wrote a play, The Wit to Woo (1957).

He was born in China and trained as a painter, but turned to writing as he became increasingly debilitated by the progressive illness that eventually caused his death.