Brian Jacques
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Biography
Jacques (pronounced "jakes") was born in Liverpool, England, growing up in the area surrounding the docks of Liverpool. He is known as Brian Jacques because both his father and one of his brothers are 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 the bird that cleaned a crocodile's teeth. It was so good that his teacher refused to believe a boy could have written it and so had him caned for plagarising a story. He had always loved to write, but it was only then, that he realized that he had a talent for writing. He attended St. John's School until the age of 15. It was at St. John's that Brian met a teacher, Alan Durband (who also taught Paul McCartney and George Harrison). After five years of school, he set out to find adventure as a merchant sailor. He travelled to many ports and eventually grew tired of being a sailor and returned to Liverpool, where he held a series of different jobs including stevedore, truck driver, policeman, bus driver, comic, boxer, and folksinger. He has also written three stage plays, 'Brown Bitter', 'Wet Nellies', and 'Scouse' to his credit. Redwall 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 to write stories for them. He is considered a patron of the school. This accounts for the very descriptive style of the novel, and the ones to follow. He paints pictures with words so that even the blind can imagine the story. His script gained acclaim when Alan Durband, his childhood English teacher, showed it to a publisher without notifying Brian. This gave him the contract to write the next 5 books in the series.
Brian Jacques admits that the characters in his stories are based on people he has encountered. He based Gonff, Prince of Mousethieves, 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.
Currently he hosts a radio show called "Jakestown" on BBC Radio Merseyside. Ever the performer, Jacques is well-known for applying his acting and entertainment background in his presentations to legions of young fans at schools across the United Kingdom and the United States. He still volunteers time and money for the Royal School for the Blind, as well as sponsoring a local children's writing contest. Jacques has two grown sons: Marc, a builder, bricklayer and carpenter; and David, who is a professor of art and a muralist. He spends spare time doing crosswords as well as walking his West Highland Terrier. He also still enjoys reading, however, he avoids children's authors to keep from being influenced.
In 2001, Jacques suffered a mild stroke, but recovered.
On March 16th, 2004, Jacques suffered a heart attack, but once again recovered.
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 Great Redwall Feast 1996 (picture book)
- The Long Patrol 1997
- Marlfox 1998
- Redwall Map & Riddler 1998
- The Legend of Luke 1999
- Lord Brocktree 2000
- The Taggerung 2001
- A Redwall Winter's Tale 2001 (picture book)
- Triss 2002
- Loamhedge 2003
- Rakkety Tam 2004
- High Rhulain (2005)
Tribes of Redwall Series
Castaways of the Flying Dutchman Series
Books not in a Series
- Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales 1991
- Urso Brunov, Little Father of All Bears 2003
- The Ribbajack 2004
External links
- Redwall Abbey Official Site (http://www.redwall.org/)
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