Wilgje.net

Gormenghast

It’s been on my list of ‘things I really really want’ for years and finally I decided to buy it: the beautifully adapted BBC version of Gormenghast. I remember it from approximately seven years ago, when I watched it on VHS. I was amazed by the beauty of it, and the strangeness of the story.

Gormenghast is a castle which has been run by the Groan family for years, and each new heir built his or her own wing, attached to the rest of the castle. The result is that the castle is now the size of a large city, and most of it is no longer inhabited. A young man named Steerpike tries to work his way up the social ladder, and he has devious ways of doing so. Christopher Lee also makes an appearance as Flay, the manservant of Lord Groan. Quick googling tells me the series cost £9 million, which is a lot for a BBC-series! A small comparison: an adaptation such as Bronte’s Jane Eyre (the 2006 version) cost £4 million and Ghormenghast was created much earlier. From what I remember it is brilliant, but I’ll see again at the end of the week, when the DVD arrives. Will post a review soon!

I want the books of Gormenghast as well, written by Mervyn Peake (the DVD is adapted from his first book in a series of three about Gormenghast). I think I’d love to read the books, if they have that same mystery going on. Also on my wishlist, in that same weirdness category: La Cité Des Enfants Perdus.