Brian Jacques

Sometimes writing the Almanac can be bittersweet, and today is such a day. On my outline for the first year of the Almanac, I set today aside to celebrate the birthday of a very special writer. Unfortunately for me and countless fans, Brian Jacques died suddenly in 2011. He would have been 74 today.

During his life Brian Jacques rarely caused a tear and often caused a laugh. He grew up in Liverpool and went to the same school as some of its most famous inhabitants, Paul McCartney and George Harrison. But the author always claimed that he received his education “in the University of Life.” At fifteen he became a merchant seaman; he worked in a variety of positions from longshoreman, truck driver, police officer, postmaster, stand-up comic, milk-truck driver, and radio announcer. Nothing up to this point in his life indicated that Jacques would ultimately become one of the world’s best loved children’s book writer.

As is true of so many of our classic authors, he began to tell and then write a story for a child, actually several children, in the Royal School for the Blind, Wavertree, Liverpool, where he delivered milk. Because they could not see, he needed to create vivid pictures of scenes for them. He emphasized action and adventure. In the process he came up with the winning concept that sustained over twenty-some books, which have been translated into twenty-nine languages and have sold twenty million copies worldwide during his lifetime.

The peaceful members of Redwall Abbey suddenly find their lives changed when attacked by Cluny the Scourge and his horde of villainous followers. A young novice of the abbey named Matthias mobilizes the defenses of his beloved refuge and attempts to become a hero. Of course, this plot has been used before, but Jacques gave it his own twist. The residents of the abbey in Redwall are mice; the villains, rats. A colorful cast of characters—Constance the Badger, Basil Stag Hare, Warbeak the Sparrow—all join forces to save the abbey. Not only does the plot boil over with excitement and daring, it contains a strong sense of right and wrong and clearly evil villains.

In May another Redwall volume, The Rogue Crew, was released. Usually after each new story came out, Jacques traveled extensively in the United States, often for more than a month, to introduce the new book and meet his fans. He was always a fabulous performer to watch—he loved to create characters, set scenes, and hold audiences enthralled as he brought to life his book and his characters. Many who sat in those audiences had become bored with reading—until they picked up a book by Brian Jacques! Then they read volume after volume of his saga. Consequently, many in America felt like they knew him and had shared part of his journey as a writer.

And so my best wishes to his wife, Maureen, who so often accompanied him on his trips, and Patti Gauch, the American editor who first believed in Brian Jacques. We can all be grateful that we have the books of this generous, creative, and engaging writer for young people.

Here’s a passage from Redwall: