- Brian Jacques
(James) Brian Jacques (pronounced "Jakes") (born
June 15 ,1939 ) is an English author, best known for his successful "Redwall " series of novels, as well as the "Tribes of Redwall" and "Castaways of the Flying Dutchman " series. He also completed two collections of short stories entitled "The Ribbajack & Other Curious Yarns" and "Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales ".Biography
Brian Jacques was born in
Liverpool ,England ,on June 15 ,1939. He grew up in the area of the Liverpool docks. He is known as Brian because both his father and one of his brothers are also called James.Jacques showed a knack for writing at an early age. At age ten, he was given an assignment of writing a story about animals, and he wrote about a bird that cleaned a crocodile's teeth. His teacher could not believe that anyone could write that well when they were only 10 years old. He was called a liar for refusing to say he copied the story. He had always loved to write, but it was only then that he realized he had a talent for writing.
He attended St. John's private school until the age of 15 when he left school (as was the tradition at the time) and set out to find adventure as a sea merchant
sailor . His bookRedwall was written for the children of the Royal Wavertree School for the Blind. He first met them when he delivered milk there as a truck driver. He began to spend time with the children and eventually began to write stories for them. This accounts for the very descriptive style of the novel and the ones to follow.His work gained acclaim when
Alan Durband , a friend (who also taughtPaul McCartney andGeorge Harrison ), showed it to his (Durband's) own publisher without telling Jacques. Durband told his publishers: "This is the finest children's tale I've ever read and you'd be foolish not to publish it." Soon after, Jacques was summoned to London to meet with the publishers, who gave him a contract to write the next five books in the series.Jacques has said that the characters in his stories are based on people he has encountered. He based Gonff, the self-proclaimed "Prince of Mouse thieves," on himself when he was a young boy hanging around the docks of Liverpool. Mariel is based on his granddaughter. Constance the Badgermum is based on his grandmother. Other characters are a combination of many of the people he has met in his travels.
His novels have sold more than twenty million copies worldwide and have been published in twenty-eight languages.
Until recently, Jacques hosted a radio show called "
Jakestown " onBBC Radio Merseyside . In June 2005, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by theUniversity of Liverpool . [ [http://www.redwall.org/dave/biography.html Brian Jacques' Biography] , "Redwall Abbey". Retrieved on 2008-06-20]Bibliography
Redwall series
* "Redwall" (1986)
* "Mossflower " (1988)
* "Mattimeo " (1989)
* "Mariel of Redwall " (1991)
* "Salamandastron " (1992)
* "Martin the Warrior " (1993)
* "The Bellmaker " (1994)
* "Outcast of Redwall " (1995)
* "The Pearls of Lutra " (1996)
* "The Long Patrol " (1997)
* "Marlfox " (1998)
* "The Legend of Luke " (1999)
* "Lord Brocktree " (2000)
* "The Taggerung " (2001)
* "Triss " (2002)
* "Loamhedge " (2003)
* "Rakkety Tam " (2004)
* "High Rhulain " (2005)
* "Eulalia! " (2007)
* "Doomwyte " (2008)Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series
* "
Castaways of the Flying Dutchman " (2001)
* "The Angel's Command " (2003)
* "Voyage of Slaves " (2006)A fourth "Castaways" novel has been announced for a possible 2008 release.Redwall picture books
* "
The Great Redwall Feast " (1996)
* "A Redwall Winter's Tale " (2001)Tribes of Redwall series
* "
Tribes of Redwall Badgers " (2001)
* "Tribes of Redwall Otters " (2002)
* "Tribes of Redwall Mice " (2003)Miscellaneous Redwall books
* "
Redwall Map & Riddler " (1997)
* "Redwall Friend & Foe " (2000)
* "The Redwall Cookbook " (2005)Books not in a series
* "
Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales " (1991)
* "Urso Brunov, Little Father of All Bears" (2003)
* "The Ribbajack & Other Curious Yarns" (2004)
* "Urso Brunov and the White Emperor" (2008)Plays
* "Brown Bitter, Wet Nellies and Scouse"
References
External links
* [http://www.redwall.org/ Official Redwall Website]
* [http://www.redwallwiki.com The Redwall Wiki] - A collaborative Redwall information and news resource
* [http://www.sullivanet.com/redwall/ Sullivanet] - Unofficial Redwall Encyclopedia
*
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