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James Brian Jacques (b. June 15, 1939, in Liverpool, England) is a British author who is best known for his Redwall series of fantasy books, written for children and young adults. In addition to the Redwall series, he has started writing two other book series, the Tribes of Redwall series and the Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series, as well as completed a standalone novel entitled The Ribbajack .
1 Biography
James Brian Jacques grew 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. He attended St. John's School until the age of fifteen. It was at St. John's that Brian met a teacher, Alan Durband (who also taught Paul McCartney and George Harrison), who, more than three decades later would bring about a major change in Mr. Jacques life. 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 longshoreman, truck driver, policeFor the band, see The Police. For the Polish town, see Police, Poland. Police forces are government organisations ostensibly charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order. The word comes from the French, and less directly from the Greek polman, bus driverThis article is about the form of transport. See computer bus or electrical bus for the use of the term in computing and electronics respectively, or places like Bus, Pas-de-Calais and Bus-Saint-Remy. The Bus, established by Mayor Frank Fasi, is Honolulu', comicSee comedian Stand up comedian List of Comedians List of British comedians comics comic book comic strip underground comics alternative comics web comic sprite comics manga graphic novel List of comic characters., boxerBoxer redirects here; for other meanings of boxer see Boxer (disambiguation). In computer science, boxing is a way to wrap primitive types over object types. See object type. Boxing is a combat sport. Fighting with the fists for sport and spectacle is pro, and folksingerIn music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. uses the voice as an instrument to make music. A lead singer is one who sings the primary vocals of a song, as opposed to a backup singer who sings backup vocals to a song or harmonies to t. He began his writing career as a playwright, with such titles as Brown Bitter, Wet Nellies and Scouse to his credit. RedwallRedwall is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques. It was originally published in 1986, and is the first book of the Redwall series. Coming in at 416 pages long, the book was illustrated by Gary Chalk, with the cover illustration by Pete Lyon. Plot The book rev 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. This accounts for the very decriptive 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.
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 kid 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. It airs on Sundays at 95.8 FM, where he plays opera. 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 States and England. 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 childrens' authors to keep from being influenced.
