Reading order
Gormenghast trilogy reading order
1
2
3- 7.77.7 / 10199 ratings
- Score
- 3 volumes
- Volumes
- 1946–1959
- Published
- about 23 h
- Reading time
- Completed
- Status
- Fantasy#177
- Genre
Quick answer
Publication order
3 volumes1946–1959Completed
- Mervyn Peake’s Gothic fantasy set in Gormenghast, a vast, crumbling castle ruled by endless ritual, where the heir Titus is born and the ambitious kitchen boy Steerpike schemes his way upwards.
- Dense, slow and richly strange, it is closer to Dickens than to Tolkien.
- Titus Groan is the most read; Gormenghast, the second, rates higher.
- Titus Alone, set outside the castle, is very different.
A plan for the whole series
3 volumes, 1,280 pages, about 23 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 4 weeks.
Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: medium
Stages
2 stages, with 1 short book from outside the series between them. You finish around December 3, 2026, 4 days later than in one go.
- Stage 19 h12 daysby November 10, 2026
- Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.8
- Stage 214 h19 daysby December 3, 2026
- The end of the series
We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.
How this plan is calculated
The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →
Every volume in order
Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026
Extras, short stories and spin-offs
Not needed to follow the main story — read them after the series or skip them.
- Titus Awakes1960
Frequently asked questions
Which Gormenghast trilogy book is the best?
By reader score, Gormenghast (7.9/10). The lowest-rated is Titus Groan (7.7/10).
Which Gormenghast trilogy book is the longest?
“Gormenghast” is the longest at 511 pages; the shortest is “Titus Alone” with 263 pages.
What should I read after Gormenghast trilogy?
After the main series: Titus Awakes.