Only one other children's book author has made such a splash in recent times, J. K. Rowling, the author of the famous Harry Potter books. When compared to the other author, however, Jacques is quick to point out that his works saw print first.

His Life:

Finally, in 1986, he sold the first Redwall book, and was immediately awarded a contract to write four more, giving birth to a series that is beloved by children and adults the world over.

Before then, he had worked a long list of jobs, until he finally settled on a steady career in radio. Jacques's parents were Irish Catholic immigrants to Liverpool, England, whose son grew up in humble but loving surroundings at home and around the ocean docks. Fortunately for the young Jacques, his father, a truck driver, had a healthy appreciation for literature, which he passed along to his son. Through him, Jacques learned to love books by such authors as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Jacques composed his first tale for an assignment at St. John's School when he was ten years old, but he was immediately discouraged by his teacher, who felt that his story about a crocodile and the bird who cleaned its teeth was too good for a child to have written. The teacher called the young Jacques a liar when the boy insisted that he had, indeed, authored the story. Though the event was a disquieting experience, it brought Jacques to the realization that he had some talent.

Another of his teachers, Austin Thomas, was a less severe task master and encouraged Jacques to read Greek literature and poetry. However, the young Jacques left school at the age of fifteen. What followed was a string of jobs in just about every occupation imaginable, from longshoreman and logger, to policeman and postmaster, to stand-up comic and folk singer for a group called The Liverpool Fisherman.

By the time he was in his early forties, Jacques had found his niche as an entertainer. He began a career as a radio personality, playwright, poet, and storyteller, and he now has a successful weekly radio show called "Jakestown," a program featuring selections from Jacques's favorite operas that airs Sundays on BBC Radio Merseyside.

Jacques enjoys performing and giving humorous lectures before children and adults, and he explains that this was how the story of Redwall first came into being. "I did not write my first novel, Redwall, with publication in mind," he once commented. "It was mainly written as a story for [the Royal Wavertree School for the Blind in Liverpool,] where I am a patron. Luckily it was picked up by a reputable author and sent to Hutchinson." That author was one of his former English teachers, Alan Durband, who sent out the manuscript without Jacques's knowledge. And so the Redwall series was born. Jacques has two grown sons. The eldest, David, is an art professor and mural painter. The other, Marc, is a builder and carpenter.

His Books:

Redwall is more than merely a classic story of good versus evil; it is also a study of the nature of the two sides of this coin. Jacques does not create characters who are merely representing virues or faults for the heroes do have flaws, and even the reprehensible Cluny has his admirable points. The "rich cast of characters, the detailed accounts of medieval warfare, and Jacques's ability to tell a good story and make readers think" all make the author's first novel a worthwhile book

For readers to go through the series chronologically according to the events Jacques describes in them, they would have to read the books in the following order:
Martin the Warrior (1993), Mossflower (1988), Outcast of Redwall (1995), Mariel of Redwall (1991), The Bellmaker (1994), Salamandastron (1992), Redwall (1986), Mattimeo (1989), and Pearls of Lutra (1996). Although each story can stand easily on its own.

For young people who wish to become writers themselves, Jacques offered this advice on the Scholastic website: "Look around you. Absorb and remember, use the things you know well and adapt them to your work. Above all, paint the picture with words."

The first book in the series opens at peaceful Redwall Abbey, where a young mouse named Matthias is living as a novice among the abbots and laycreatures in a medieval-like setting. Life at the abbey involves a lot of work, but the mice and other creatures enjoy a prosperous, comfortable existence, which Jacques describes in detail near the story's beginning with a long description of a splendid and sumptuous feast.

But trouble is afoot in the form of an evil rat named Cluny the Scourge, who, with his barbarous horde of followers, spends his time wreaking havoc upon the countryside. His path leads him eventually to Redwall Abbey, clearly a plum of prosperity fit for plunder. Upon hearing of Cluny's imminent approach, the Redwallers at first consider fleeing their abbey, but Matthias convinces them to stay and defend themselves.

Matthias has stumbled upon a mysterious riddle written long ago by Martin the Warrior, the legendary mouse who founded the abbey, and he hopes that by solving the riddle he will be able to locate Martin's legendary sword and defeat Cluny's army.

1988 Mossflower

In Mossflower Martin once again finds himself in dire circumstances. Having wandered into Mossflower Country, he is taken prisoner by the wildcat Verdauga, King of Kotir, and ruler over Mossflower woods. Martin then becomes a point of dispute between the aging and sickly Verdauga's two potential heirs: his son, Gingivere, and his daughter, Tsarmina. Gingivere is sympathetic to Martin, who insists that he was not aware he was trespassing on their land. But the more willful and ruthless Tsarmina, in a bid for power, manages to have her brother thrown in prison and poisons her father the king. Having assumed the throne, Tsarmina throws Martin into the dungeon, where the mouse meets a thief named Gonff. With the help of Gonff's talent for getting out of tight fixes, Martin escapes. Not one to forget an injustice, Martin gathers together an army that leads to Tsarmina's downfall. With the tyrant wildcat defeated, Martin founds Redwall Abbey in the heart of Mossflower and begins a new order whose members are sworn to be kind to their fellow creatures and offer aid to those in need.

Mattimeoinvolves the descendants of Matthias and follows the events in Redwall. Mattimeo, the son of Matthias (who now serves as the abbey's protector), and the other children of Redwall are kidnapped after one of the abbey feasts by the fox Slagar the Cruel, who tricks the Redwallers by posing as a harmless magician. Matthias rounds up a band of warriors and pursues Slagar across a forbidding desert to the fox's slave kingdom. Matthias has to use all his wits and courage to save his son from his wicked captor.

Mariel of Redwall and The Bellmaker, the two books following Outcast of Redwall chronologically, feature the brave mouse Mariel and tell something of the history of the great bell that hangs in the abbey tower.

In Salamandastron, two renegade sea-rats (a loathsome variety of pirate) come to the Abbey for shelter. They steal the magical sword of Martin the Warrior and slink off into the night, leaving one of the brother mice dead. The theft is not their only legacy: one of them was carrying the germs of Dryditch Fever. Soon most of the Abbey residents are ill and dying.

A young badger and a young hare from the Mountain of Dragons have crept off with a smooth-talking weasel. They are met by Samkin Squirrel and Arula Mole from Redwall, who are trying to track the thieves who stole the sword. In the meantime Thugg, the otter, and Baby Dumble, the dormouse, have set out for the mountains of the north to find the Flowers of Icetor, the only cure for the fever. The narrative flows smoothly between the adventures of the various groups, eventually bringing all of them together.

The story of Redwall actually begins before the abbey is built. In Martin the Warrior, a mouse named Martin has been enslaved by the sinister stoat Badrang, who tortures the poor mouse and forces him to work long hours without rest. One day, Martin can take no more and attacks one of Badrang's captains. It takes six of the stoat's soldiers to bring Martin down. Tying the upstart mouse to a pole atop a hill, Badrang sentences Martin to death by leaving him exposed to the local birds as prey. Martin would surely have died had not a mouse named Rose and her friend Grumm the mole come to his rescue. After saving him, Rose asks Martin whether he has seen her brother, who was also imprisoned by Badrang. Martin now has a mission: enlisting the help of other brave animals, he plans an attack against Badrang to defeat the stoat and free all his slaves.

The Bellmaker reunites Mariel and Dandin, this time in a mission to defeat Foxwolf Urgan Nagru, who has usurped the throne of Southsward from good Gael Squirrelking. Joining forces with the woodland creatures still loyal to the king, the mice set about their dangerous task. Meanwhile, at the abbey, Mariel's father has visions that his daughter is in danger and sends out additional Redwallers to help.

Outcast of Redwall moves away from Martin to focus on new characters and includes a somewhat more complex plot, though the story begins again with a protagonist being held prisoner by an evil carnivore. But, instead of a mouse, this time the hero is a badger named Sunflash, the son of Bella of Brockhall and heir to the badgers' mountain stronghold of Salamandastron

In Pearls of Lutra the hero is Martin, son of Mattimeo, son of Matthias, the descendant of Martin the Warrior. Martin's quest is to find the Pearls of Lutra, which were lost after a band of searats slaughtered the otter Lutra and his tribe. The pearls are needed as ransom for the Abbess of Redwall, whom the searats have taken prisoner. But there is one factor in this plan that neither the searats nor Martin are aware of: Lutra's daughter Grath Longfletch is still alive and out for revenge.

Tamello De Fformelo Tussock wants more than anything to join the Long Patrol, those staunch and stalwart hare warriors who make their home at the top of Salamandastron Mountain. But Tammo, as he is called, is too young and inexperienced. Or is he? Guided by the nomad squirrel Russa, Tammo makes his way to Redwall, where the Long Patrol has gathered to protect their beloved Abbey from the great rat Rapscallions. And as the mighty rats rear their ugly heads and ancient Redwall warriors fall, young Tammo learns what life, death and honor really mean as a new generation of Redwall heroes comes to the fore to save their home from evil.

Marlfox! The name brings a chill to all of the good woodland creatures who hear it. From their silver white coats mottled with patches of black and bluish gray, to the axes they carry on their cloaked backs and their inexplicable ability to vanish into thin air, the Marlfoxes are creatures of superstition and legend. On a mission to procure treasure for their dangerously addled queen and mother, these crafty creatures lay siege to Redwall Abbey. The abbey creatures hold their own-until the greatest treasure of all is stolen: the tapestry of Martin the Warrior. Guided by visions of the legendary Martin, the young squirrel Dann, hoping to live up to his brave father's expectations, leads his friends toward the castle fortress of the Marlfox queen.

After the events of Mossflower, the safe haven of Redwall Abbey is being built. Many creatures have been drawn to this community. Among them is a young hedgehog maid from the north. As the workers sing songs, Trimp joins them. She shares a half-remembered ballad recounting the adventures of a brave warrior mouse named LUKE! Martin is stunned to hear this song of his long lost father. He wishes to know more. But Trimp can tell him nothing more. So Martin and his friends Gonff and Dinny set off with Trimp to return to the Northland shore, and seek the truth of the father he barely knew.

Salamandastron, under the guardianship of old Lord Stonepaw, is under threat from an enemy of immense and terrifying power. Ungatt Trunn, the wildcat who can make the stars fall from the sky, has attacked with his Blue Hordes and is determined that the fortress should be his. The mountain’s defences are weak and it seems that nothing can stand in his way.

Nothing, that is, but the badger Lord Brocktree, who is drawn to Salamandastron by an undeniable sense of destiny. But if he is to rescue the mountain from Trunn and his verminous hordes, he must gather about him an army capable of defeating them in battle.

This time the hero is Taggerung, an otter kidnapped in infancy and raised as the adopted son of Sawny Rath, a savage ferret who leads a murderous band of stoats, rats, weasels, foxes, and ferrets. As Tagg matures, a rift develops between him and Sawny, revolving, in part, around Tagg's refusal to maim or kill an adversary. The enmity grows, and Tagg leaves the clan. Meanwhile, back at Redwall Abbey, the missing otter babe is mourned. Of course, Tagg eventually makes his way back to the abbey, discovers his identity, meets his mother and his sister--who has just become the Redwall's new abbess--and helps save the day.

Chronicles the exploits of a brave squirrel maid who travels from the bonds of slavery to the meeting of her destiny as a warrior at Redwall Abbey. Triss the squirrel, Shogg the otter, and Welfo the hedgehog, all slaves to the bloodthirsty royal ferret family of Riftgard, filch a ferret boat and sail away from the murderous clutches of Princess Kurda and her malevolent father, King Agarnu.

Swearing revenge, Kurda sets out to recapture her slaves, her evil Ratguard troops reinforced by the pirate fox Plugg Firetail and his band of criminal Freebooters. At the same time, the badger Sagaxus and his bosom friend Bescarum the hare also set sail from Salamanstrom, to seek adventure on the high seas. Meanwhile, back at the abbey, the Redwall inhabitants are being plagued by a mystery that involves a hidden door, a secret code, and three stinking, sinister snake siblings that are picking off the gentle forest folk one by one.

"Multiply the number of seasons it takes for a stone to grow old, by a thousand, and the name of Loamhedge is still spoke of at Redwall Abbey.The first mice, led by Abbess Germaine, fled the great sickness of Loamhedge to wander through Mossflower. There it was that they met Martin the Warrior and his Corim friends. Together they helped build Redwall Abbey. Most of Loamhedge was destroyed at the climax of "Mattimeo". But still it's mysteries lay hidden. What secrets of ancient wisdom were buried there?"
Brian Jacques, Recorder of Redwall Abbey

A dark force is rampaging through the forests of Mossflower. Gulo the Savage, wolverine, flesh-eater and brutal killer, has come across the seas in search of his brother, Askor. Askor stole the famous walking stone that will make one of them king of the lands of ice and snow - and Gulo wants it back. Anybeast who gets in Gulo's way is dead meat. Literally. Rakkety Tam McBurl is a brave border warrior, travelled south in search of adventure. But when his army is attacked by Gulo's flesh-eating band, adventure finds him. Gulo is heading for the ancient Redwall Abbey - and Rakkety Tam is determined not to let the savage Gulo destroy the peaceful ways of Redwall.

Young Tiria Wildlough is an ottermaid touched by the paw of destiny. Her epic adventure takes her on a journey from Redwall Abbey across the Great Western Sea, to the mysterious Green Isle. There she must fulfill an ancient prophecy and gain her inheritance. Green Isle is home to the otterclans, but they are beset by dangers from Wildcat chieftain Riggu Fellis and his catguard slave masters. Aided by two birds and a platoon of Long Patrol hares, Tiria joins forces with the outlaw leader of the otterclans in a battle that will test all their courage and skill. In the true tradition of Redwall comes a new saga full of feasts and fighting, riddles and quests, and a heroine you're not likely to forget as she strives to become the chosen one-the High Rhulain!

Lord Asheye of Salamandastron has a prophecy: A new Badger Lord must take his place and reign over the legendary badger fortress. But who is this young warrior who shuns both armor and sword? And how is he to be found? Mad Maudie, a feisty haremaid of the Long Patrol, is just the one to track him down. Meanwhile, the unsuspecting future Badger Lord has been captured by a scurrilous group of Sea Raiders led by the infamous fox, Vizka Longtooth, who intends on conquering Redwall Abbey. It is up to our young hero to defend Redwall so that he may fulfill his destiny as leader of Salamandastron.

In 2001, Jacques published a book that was not part of the Redwall series, but which nevertheless invoked magical times and places. Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, is about the Flying Dutchman of yore, who was cursed to sail the seas of the world forever, and two castaways on his ship, a boy and his dog. Explaining to Stephanie Loer of the Boston Globe how he came to write this book, Jacques said, "I've always been fascinated with the sea, because I live by the sea and I went to sea for a short time in my life."

The new Castaways novel comes alive-Redwall fashion-with a magnificent romp on the sea, and another in the robber-filled mountains of Spain! Ben and Ned, the boy and dog who were sent on an angel's errand in Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, find themselves on board a Frenchman's pirate ship, pursued by not one but two ships- an English privateer and a Spanish buccaneer. They finally escape into the Pyrenees, only to stumble into an even more challenging adventure that takes them into very heart of the mountains, where they-and their new companions, a painter and a gypsy girl-must face the most evil robber of them all: the legendary Maguda Razan.

Adrift in the Mediterranean Sea, Ben falls captive to a band of slave traders and their leader Al Misurata. With his faithful dog Ned at his side, Ben must plot escape as the ship of scoundrels sails up the Libyan coastline toward Italy, where a trap awaits. Ruthless enemies and hard times appear around every bend, but Ben and Ned have quick wits to rely on and, just as important, one another.

Random House Brian Jacques Site                      Redwall Abbey: Official site of Brian Jacques