The Peake Archive of drawings, poetry notebooks and manuscripts greatly strengthens and complements the LibraryÂ’s existing post-war literary holdings and will enable scholars to take forward research on PeakeÂ’s work. Mervyn Peake is best-known as the author of Gormenghast which ranks as one of this centuryÂ’s most remarkable feats of imaginative writing. Throughout his life, he illustrated a number of childrenÂ’s books and classic texts, including Treasure Island, AliceÂ’s Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. His illustrations form a significant portion of this archive and highlights include the complete set of original drawings and illustrations for Lewis CarrollÂ’s Alice books (see main illustration) and the Gormenghast notebooks.
More information
Title of artwork, date
The Mervyn Peake Archive, 1940–1960s
Date supported
2010
Medium and material
Pen & ink on paper
Dimensions
Various
Grant
100000
Total cost
400000

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If you have a question about a work of art in our archive, please contact the Programmes team. We’ll be happy to answer your enquiry.