Peake performance

THE son of Gormenghast author Mervyn Peake visited Herm School to discuss the writer's work.

Sebastian Peake was in the Bailiwick for the Guernsey Literary Festival and to visit the exhibition of his father's work at Candie Museum.

The Herm children visited the exhibition a week ago, so were thrilled to be able to question Mr Peake about Mervyn's stories and illustrations.

'My father wrote his most famous work in the Bailiwick,' said Mr Peake. 'He wrote the three Gormenghast books between 1946 and 1950, which was when we lived on Sark.'

Mervyn Peake first lived on Sark in the 1930s, and a notebook discovered after his death had the hero of his unfinished novel, Titus Awakes, ending up living on an island that the writer identifies as Sark.

'The islands were a very big influence on his work,' said Sebastian, who describes his childhood here as 'idyllic'.

Sebastian's sister, Claire Penate, is also a writer. Her book, Under A Canvas Sky, takes its title from the fact that when she was a child, there were often a lack of beds in the house. Her creative father would make a tent from two oil paintings, with rugs and blankets underneath, so that she grew up always looking up at art.

His mother, Maeve Gilmore, has also written a book entitled A World Away, based on her husband's writings.

The family occasionally visited Herm, but their memories are not all happy ones.

The first visit meant a trip in a very rocky open-top boat from Sark to Herm. It was a very rough crossing, as high winds hit when they were halfway across. Passengers were informed it could be their last journey.

'We thought we'd had it,' said Mr Peake. 'My mother was clinging to the jetty in Sark in tears as the word went out that we weren't going to make it.'

Thankfully, they did make it, although he was reticent about visiting the island again when invited by Herm teacher Mary Carey.

The smooth crossing in the Travel Trident this week hopefully did something to allay those fears for future visits.

Mervyn Peake's work will be exhibited at the Candie Museum until September.