The Pearls of Lutra

infobox Book |
name = Pearls of Lutra
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = UK 1st Edition Cover
author = Brian Jacques
illustrator = Allan Curless
cover_artist = Chris Baker
country = United Kingdom
language = English
series = Redwall
genre = Fantasy novel
publisher = Hutchinson (UK) & Philomel (US)
release_date = 1996
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 375 (UK Hardback) & 408 (US Hardback)
isbn = ISBN 0-09-176536-6 (UK Hardback) & ISBN 0-399-22946-9 (US Hardback)
preceded_by = Outcast of Redwall
followed_by = The Long Patrol

"The Pearls of Lutra" is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 1996. It is the ninth book in the Redwall series. The American edition of the novel was published simply as "Pearls of Lutra".

Plot introduction

When Ublaz Mad-Eyes sets out on a mission to steal Tears of All Oceans, a set of six spherical rose-pink pearls, from the Lutra otter clan, Grath Longfletch must stand up to the evil pine marten while the Redwallers search for the missing treasures.

Plot summary

When gathering herbs near the quarry in Mossflower Woods, the young Redwallers Tansy and Arven come across a mysterious skeleton among the rocks. They are presently disoriented in a rainstorm and, failing to return to the abbey before the breaking of the storm, are rescued by Martin II. Tansy quickly leads curious Redwallers back to the quarry to examine the mysterious skeleton, and along the way, they meet two travelers: the irrepressible hare Cleckstarr Lepus Montisle and his owl friend Gerul.

Meanwhile, far across the western sea on the tropical isle of Sampetra, trouble is brewing. Ublaz Mad-Eyes, a large, sinewy pine marten with a hypnotic stare, gathers an army of barbaric monitor lizards and trident wielding searats. The stoat captain Conva is sent out to retrieve the Tears of All Oceans, six perfectly spherical rose-pink pearls, but after murdering the Holt Lutra who owned the pearls, the Tears are stolen by the weasel Graylunk, who flees into Mossflower Woods. Conva tracks him to Redwall Abbey, where Graylunk takes refuge, before returning to Sampetra.

Ublaz is not pleased and presently murders Conva. He then sends out an elite force of monitor lizards, headed by their general Lask Frildur, to Mossflower to retrieve the pearls. They are escorted by the ferret captain Romsca and her crew.

However, the daughter of the Lutra chieftain is not dead. Far away on the western shores, Grath Longfletch, a strong female otter, was at the gates of the Dark Forest before being found by a pair of bankvoles, who nursed her back to health. The otter fashioned a powerful bow and a quiver of green-fletched arrows, with which she planned on wreaking her revenge. She eliminates a longboat-crew of searats and then takes their boat southward into Mossflower, where she hopes to find the corsairs that slew her family.

Presently, Conva's brother Barranca discovers that Ublaz has killed his brother, and he begins hatching a plan to overthrow the pine marten and take the island for himself. With the fearsome Lask and his lizards gone to Mossflower, Barranca decides to seize his chance.

Back at Redwall, the old bankvole recorder Rollo determines that the skeleton in the quarry was Graylunk. He had become gravely injured in a fight with the weasel Flairnose, whom he killed, over the pearls before seeking safety at Redwall. There he befriended an old squirrel called Sister Fermald before he went off to die in the woods. Fermald, a clever old beast, had expertly hidden the pearls thorought the abbey before passing away several seasons ago. Tansy and Rollo, along with the hedgehog maid's friends Craklyn the squirrel and Piknim the mouse, begin a search for the six exquisite pearls. The Dibbun Arven and his two partners in crime, the moles Diggum and Gurrbowl, occasionally help in the search.

When Abbot Durral takes young Viola Bankvole for a stroll in Mossflower Woods, they are captured by Lask and his troops. Lask binds the Abbot and the bankvole and attempts to ransom them for the pearls at Redwall. However, the pearls have not yet been found, and Lask and his lizards take the two Redwallers back to their ship to be captives at Sampetra.

Martin, Clecky, Gerul, and the Skipper of Otters pursue the lizards through Mossflower, slaying several but failing to rescue the captives. Gerul and Skipper become wounded and are sent back to the Abbey, but the others chase the lizards to the western shore. There, they meet up with Grath Longfletch, who had caught sight of Romsca's ship, the "Waveworm", and attempted to pick off some of the vermin. Durral manages to help Viola get to safety on the shore, but the ship departs before he can escape. Viola is sent back to Redwall with two shrews to guide her, and Grath, Clecky, Martin, and the Log-a-Log's two sons use discarded vermin boats to form the "Freebeast", a double-outrigger vessel in which they pursue Lask to Sampetra. Viola, who has sneaked aboard, also ends up coming along.

On Sampetra, Barranca has been slain by Rasconza, a clever fox corsair who takes over the rebellion against Ublaz, and Sampetra is plunged into all-out war.

In the search for the six pearls, the Redwaller friends slowly but surely find them all, though not without paying the price. The young mouse Piknim ends up being slain by the cruel jackdaws at St. Ninian's while searching for a pearl. The church is burnt down to prevent evil from using it again (it had been used as a base by Redwall's enemies twice before), and the quest resumes, with all the pearls eventually being found.

Martin, Grath and their friends closely follow Romsca and Lask across the ocean, and end up meeting the otters of Holt Ruddaring along the way. Inbar Trueflight, a skilled archer, and the seal Hawm tag along on the quest.

On the "Waveworm", Durral is underfed and mistreated, but the ferret captain Romsca protects him from the fierce violence and hunger of Lask's cruel monitor lizards. Lask and Romsca, who had been at odds with one another since the beginning, finally battle on deck, with the crews of both being decimated. Romsca ends up slaying Lask but is fatally injured in the process. Before dying, she gives the abbot instructions on how to set the rudder to fix the ship toward Sampetra. As the last living creature aboard the ship, the old Abbot sails alone toward the evil isle.

When Martin, Clecky, Grath, Inbar, the shrews and Viola arrive on Sampetra, a battle ensues. Most of the monitor lizards and wave-vermin are killed, and Martin corners Ublaz alone in his palace. They duel it out, but Ublaz accidentally steps on the poisonous snake that he had hypnotized and kept as a pet. The snake bites him and he dies.

Durral is rescued and the warriors all return to Mossflower. Grath stays with Inbar at Holt Ruddering, but the others meet Tansy and her friends at the shore. The young hedgehog, realizing the pearls lead only to greed and violence, casts them out into the sea to be forever lost. For her hard work, perseverance and aptitude, Tansy is made Abbess of Redwall to succeed old Durral. She becomes the first non-mouse abbot/abbess.

Characters in "Pearls of Lutra"

* Tansy
* Arven
* Martin II
* Cleckstarr Lepus Montisle (Clecky)
* Gerul the Owl
* Ublaz Mad-Eyes
* Romsca
* Grath Longfletch
* Fermald the Ancient
* Rollo the vole
* Craklyn
* Piknim
* Conva
* Barranca
* Rasconza
* Abbot Durral
* Viola Bankvole
* Sagitar
* Graylunk
* Hawm Seal
* Lask Frildur
* Inbar

Trivia

* It should be noted that the scientific name for otters is "Lutra lutra" and the father of Grath Longfletch, one of the otter protagonists, is named Lutra, as well as the holt which she comes from.
* This is one of only three known times Jacques unintentionally uses a name in three different books: a minor character is a shrew named Trimp, and Trimp was the name of a major character in "The Legend of Luke" (while there are the first and second Martin the Warriors, that was intentional. In addition, the Ripfang seen in Mossflower and Lord Brocktree is the same rat.). Also the name Scratt was used for several different rats. There is also a fourth repeted name found in "Salamandastron" that the otter named Thrugg who received the Icetor Flowers to help cure the Dryditch fever. The other use of the name Thrugg is on "Mossflower" where Martin is talking to Gonff in the cells and he is talking about the Northlands life where he lists some other names of fellow warriors and mentions that there was a warrior named Thrugg the Strong.
* This is the only book in the series that had whales in it.

Book divisions (English)

* Book 1: Six Tears for an Abbot
* Book 2: Westward the Warriors
* Book 3: When Tears Are Shed

Translations

* (Finnish) "Jalokivien jäljillä"
* (French) "Rougemuraille : Les Perles de Loubia"
** "Tome 1 : L'Empereur aux yeux fous"
** "Tome 2 : Six larmes pour un abbé"
** "Tome 3 : L'Âme-Libre"
** "Tome 4 : La Vengeance de Loubia"
* (German) "Die Geiseln des Kaisers"
* (Italian) "Le Perle di Lutra"
* (Swedish) "Lutras pärlor"
* (Russian) "Жемчуг Лутры" (Zhemchug Lutry)

External links

* [http://www.redwall.org/dave/lutra.html Plot summary]