Book of Nonsense

(Paperback, The 2011 anniversary ed)

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Description

'I can be quite obscure and practically marzipan.'

From the macabre to the brilliantly off-beat, Mervyn Peake's nonsense verse can, like marzipan, be enjoyed by young and old alike. This collection of writings and drawings has been selected by his widow, Maeve Gilmore, and it introduces a whole gallery of characters and creatures, such as the Dwarf of Battersea and Footfruit. Quirky and comical, occasionally alarming, but always magical.

Reviews

"He can try on the strangest clothes without losing his own strange identity . . . a genuinely haunted imagination which stamps everything he wrote or drew." --Guardian
"Peake deserves a place among the eccentrics of the English tradition alongside Sterne, Blake, Lear, Carroll and Belloc." --Times Literary Supplement

Author Bio

Mervyn Peake (1911-1968) was an English modernist writer, artist, poet, and illustrator who is best known for his pioneering Gormenghast series, which have become classics in the literary fantasy genre. He was also a noted illustrator of classic children's books including Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Treasure Island.