Brian-Jacques-Obituary

Brian Jacques

Obituary

LONDON (AP) - Brian Jacques, author of the best-selling "Redwall" adventures for children, has died. He was 71.

The Liverpool Echo newspaper said Tuesday that Jacques died Saturday in a hospital where he was being treated for an aneurism on his aorta.

Jacques was a milk delivery man when he wrote the first Redwall story for children at the Royal Wavertree School for the Blind in Liverpool, one of the stops on his route. The book's hero was a timid mouse named Matthias who found the courage to protect his home, Redwall Abbey.

"I wanted to write something visual that I could read to the children," Jacques said in an interview published on the website of publisher Random House.

"This was when I created the idea of Redwall Abbey in my imagination. As I wrote, the idea grew, and the manuscript along with it."

After his former English teacher, Alan Durband, showed the story to a publisher, the first of the 21 Redwall books appeared in 1986.

He said he chose animals as his characters because they were more popular with his target audience, kids aged 9 to 15. His inspirations included the books he read as a child, such as Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows," H. Rider Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines" and the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey."

"A dirty rat, a sly fox, a slippery snake, an heroic mouse, a homely mouse, a friendly badger ... these are all prevalent in the folk tales of Europe and they suit the medieval setting well," Jacques said.

Born in Liverpool, Jacques left school at 15 to become a merchant seaman. Later he became a locomotive fireman, longshoreman, police officer, standup comedian, postmaster, and bus and truck driver. He also sang in a folk group, The Liverpool Fishermen, with his two brothers, and was a broadcaster for BBC's Radio Merseyside.

Jacques is survived by his wife Maureen and their two sons. Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.


Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press

Guest Book

Not sure what to say?

Don, Sharon and Jeff: So very, very sorry for your loss; no words can express how sad I feel for your family. He is resting with Matt now, peacefully. God Bless...Susan Sionni (Stearns)

I, like many whom he has touched with his brilliant works, will never forget the man who introduced me to the world of literature with a single book- Salamandastron, a tale of good and evil, bravery and cowardice, friendship and enemies. As his tales have changed readers, he has changed my life in more ways than I could ever possibly describe, with each book that passed through my hands. At one point I actually ended up reading five or six books within a year when previously I rarely...

Brian Jacques was my favorite author. I did not discover Redwall until I was in my 20's and now I cannot imagine life without those stories. One more war cry for our dear author, EULALIAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ONCE A REDWALLER, ALWAYS A REDWALLER!
A. Smith
Irvine, CA

Brian Jacques will always live on in our hearts. He was one of the greatest of all time and he will be greatly missed by all.

You will be missed, Mr. Jacques. You were my favorite author! GOD BLESS!

may 11,2011
i will pray for you in this trial of y'alls life. mr.jacques was my top favorite writer of all. even though i am 17 almost 18 i still read his books and always will. God bless you and you're family. i will pray for you always.

I am so sad to hear of the passing of Brian Jacques. He was a wonderful writer and will be greatly missed. When I read the Redwall books, I am transported to the grounds of Redwall Abbey or the middle of the battle field with Martin the Warrior. I really enjoy reading his work.
To his family, may God bless and keep you in his hands.

He was and still is my favorite author since I was 9 (I'm 13 now)and I want to keep all of his books and show to my kids when I become a dad. His family is in my prayers as they grieve. Eulaiaaaaaa! Long live Redwaaaaaaaal!!!!