He went on to work as a radio show host, playwright, longshoreman, lorry driver, folk singer and comedian prior to his career as a writer. Growing up on the docks of Liverpool, he attended St. With he help of a motley band of animals, Mariel leads the charge to recover a bell and avenge her father.īrian Jacques was born in Liverpool, England, in 1939. Sure that her poor father is dead, Mariel swears an oath of vengeance against the filthy pirates who killed her father. Mariel washes ashore, starved and near death, and is taken in by the hospitable inhabitants of Redwall Abbey. Hapless voyagers Mariel and her father Joseph the Bellmaker are mercilessly thrown into the sea by the pirates. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.In the fourth volume of the epic Redwall saga, a mouse-ship is attacked by the pirate rat Gabool and his heinous band of cut-throats. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. One more book is scheduled for publication in May.Ĭopyright © 2011 NPR. His books sold millions of copies around the world by the time of his death at the age of 71. MONTAGNE: But the books caught on and Jacques developed a devoted following. SILVEY: In the 1980s, conventional wisdom was that children did not want to read anything over 200 pages, and they wanted to read about children like themselves. Silvey says it was not an immediate bestseller. It was over 300 pages and featured animals. MONTAGNE: Jacques was well into his 40s when his first book, 'Redwall,' was published. And he just did so many occupations that when he finally came to writing, he had an enormous reservoir to draw upon. He was a truck driver and he was a longshoreman. INSKEEP: That's the children's book expert Anita Silvey. ANITA SILVEY (Editor/Literary Critic): He always said he got his degree in the University of Life. The books pull from Jacques' own experiences in Liverpool, England where he was born and raised. Those creatures fight their beloved abbey from marauding hordes of rats and weasels. They include some 21 books starring mice, the heroes of his stories, along with badgers and squirrels.

Jacques died on Saturday, and this morning we remember him and his creations. MONTAGNE: That's author Brian Jacques, and the abbey he's speaking of is Redwall Abbey, for which his children's series is named. BRIAN JACQUES (Author, 'Redwall'): (Reading) Down long ages, the beautiful old abbey had stood for happiness, peace and refuge to all. Fans of children's literature might recognize this voice.

Redwall by Brian Jacques