An Introduction to Brian Jacques.
BY KELDA MANLEY
The first thing you notice when talking to Liverpool author Brain Jacques is his complete engrossment in the fantasy world he has created. In 1986 he released the first of what has become the iconic ‘Redwall’ collection. 3
A wonderful world of woodland creatures defending themselves and their beloved Redwall Abbey against evil. Jacques has brought this world to life for children and adults alike complete with evil creatures, unlikely heroes, feasts and riddles all conveyed with passion and belief.
‘It [began as]an imaginary world and being an inner city kid my countryside was the local park’ explains Brian. ‘About half a mile from where I lived was this old Victorian park called Stanley Park. At the back of the bowling green was a terraced part with flowers and at the back of that was a big sandstone wall. I used to look at this wall and wonder what was behind it. What was behind the little green door which was rusted shut with the ages and that was where the churn started. Now I know it was only the Liverpool soccer ground!’ Anfield became Redwall Abbey.
Not that Jacques purposely went out to get his work recognised. After a stint of working for BBC radio in Liverpool the write became a patron for Royal Wavertree School for the Blind. ‘I became friends with the headmaster and the staff and read them stories’ recalls Brian ‘and then I used to read them books that had been sent in by publishers and I didn’t like some of these books and they were [all] about the now. They were about teenage angst and divorce and the march of technology and I thought “ohh god what have they done to the magic in children’s literature? What happened Wind in the Willows? What happened to Treasure Island?” So I sat down and I wrote one and it turned out to be Redwall and it was published without my knowledge. I never had to send it to anyone.’
Since that day Brian has written a further 19 books for the Redwall collection and has no intention of slowing down anytime soon. In January next year he will release the next in the series ‘The Sable Quean.’ ‘[Sable is] the old fashioned name for mink’ explains Brian. ‘The sable is the black mink. And I don’t know if you know anything about the nature of the mink but they’re totally vicious and they will kill just for the sake of it. Not just to eat. It’ll eat and then kill everything else. So there’s her and she’s got a male but there’s only the two of them and they run this whole conquering band and they’re out to conquer Redwall. Some hope!’
Not that Brian is giving away the ending, ‘ [I] never give [that] away but they all end up well for the inhabitants of Redwall because what would you do if it didn’t?’ He grins. ‘In my books there is life and death. Goodies get killed as well as baddies. It’s not like Walt Disney where there are singing teapots and we all go over the hill singing bobbidy-bobbidy-boo at the end so goodies get killed as well as baddies. Just to reinforce that thing, lots of kids read my books and to a lot of children death hasn’t entered their world yet and the first thing they’ll know [is] when they’re 11 or 12 [and] their Gran or Grandad will die or and they wonder why.’
The beauty in Brian’s writing is his ability to make the stories a reality. There is death, heartbreak, love, heroes and a lot of food. ‘The kids absolutely love [the feasts]’ he grins ‘and say to me “Well, why do you write about food so much?” “Because I was hungry when I was a kid!” It was World War II and I come from a working class, Catholic, Liverpool family, living in the Docklands and we were being bombed to hell and everything was on rations, convoys couldn’t get through and you didn’t have anything proper to eat. I had an old cookery book of my aunties with all these old Victorian recipes and glorious coloured pages with Strawberry Meringue Tarts and things like that and I used to look and salivate and as I got older I started reading books myself and it really, really peeved me when I was reading a book and it would say “The king then gave the four friends a wonderful feast after which they road off on their white horses waiving to the Princess.” And I’d say “hang on a minute! What did they eat? What did it look like? Was their plenty of it? How was it made? Did they enjoy it?” So I write about my food and it’s become as much part of the entire novel as the battles, the songs, the quest, the riddles.’
While talking to Brian an obvious connection between his work and his life appears. Each individual character, each event and each tale stem from his own life. ‘[A lot of influences come] from my childhood and from old books that I read’ he explains. ‘People I went to school with, people I sailed with in the Merchant Navy, guys I worked on the Docks with, fellas I worked in factories with. You know, people you meet at different stages of your life. I’ve always been a great student o f the human condition. I mean you can look at someone and go “Ohh yeah. Hate to meet him on a dark night” and things like that.’
There is also, of course, a hero. Each story has a different star. Those who protect their friends against evil. ‘The fight become very ingenious and the most unlikely hero comes to the fore’ smiles Brian. ‘Usually in my books it’s some little one who’s ignored and they say “No, go away. We know better about the fighting than you do” but this little one tends to shine when it comes to the action.’
Next week we have PART2 of our interview with Brian with a look into specific characters, fans and how Redwall has become a million selling franchise and a real world for fans worldwide!
Please check out the Official Redwall website HERE
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