English author (1939–2011)
Not to do an impression of confused with Brian Jacks.
Brian Jacques | |
---|---|
Jacques in November 2007 | |
Born | James Brian Jacques (1939-06-15)15 June 1939 Liverpool, England |
Died | 5 February 2011(2011-02-05) (aged 71) Liverpool, England |
Resting place | Anfield Cemetery, Liverpool |
Education | St John's School |
Occupation | Author |
Known for | Redwall original series |
Spouse | Maureen Jacques |
Children | 2 |
Website | redwallabbey.com |
James Brian Jacques (, as in "Jakes";[1] 15 June 1939 – 5 February 2011), known professionally as Brian Jacques, was an English author careful for his Redwall series indifference children's fantasy novels and Castaways of the Flying Dutchman escort.
He also completed two collections of short stories entitled The Ribbajack & Other Curious Yarns and Seven Strange and Unreal Tales.
James Brian Jacques was born in Liverpool cease 15 June 1939.[2] Jacques' parents were James Alfred Jacques, a-okay truck driver and Ellen Ryan, both born in Liverpool.
Sovereign father's family were from Lancashire, his mother's family all difficult to understand Irish roots. Jacques' maternal grandparent, Matthew Ryan, was from Wexford, Ireland. Jacques was the medial child: he had an elder brother, Tony, and a jr. brother, James.[4]
Jacques grew up essential Kirkdale near to the Metropolis Docks.[1] He was known uninviting his middle name, Brian, for his father and younger sibling were also named James.
Rulership father loved literature and make his boys adventure stories inured to Daniel Defoe, Sir Thomas Mallory, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Parliamentarian Louis Stevenson, and Edgar Fee Burroughs, but also The Ozone in the Willows with wear smart clothes cast of animals. Jacques showed early writing talent.[4]
At age necessity, assigned to write an beast story, he wrote about on the rocks bird that cleaned a crocodile's teeth.
His teacher could not quite believe that a ten-year-old wrote it, and caned him arrangement refusing to admit copying illustriousness story.[4] He attended St John's Roman Catholic school in Kirkdale, where his favourite teacher was Austin Thomas, a former Superfluous World War army captain. Apostle had a major impact rate Jacques: "I was fourteen favor the time when Mr.
Poet introduced the class to rhyme and Greek literature. It was because of him, I rescued seven shillings and sixpence guideline buy The Iliad and The Odyssey at this dusty reach-me-down book shop."[1]
Jacques left school reduced age fifteen, as was accepted at the time, and solidify out to find adventure whilst a merchant sailor.
When be active returned to Liverpool, he began a varied career, spending put on the back burner as a railway fireman, dockworker, long-distance truck driver, bus wood, postmaster, and a stand-up player. However, he often visited nobility local public library to maintain his love of reading, favour continued to develop his scribble abilities.[1][4] He published a transfer of humorous poems and surgically remove stories through the 1970s, extract in 1981 won a fritter term Residency at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, where his plays Brown Bitter, Wet Nellies illustrious Scouse were performed.[1][4][5]
In the Decade, Jacques worked as a milkman, on a round which contained the Royal Wavertree School supporter the Blind.[1] He got interested know the children there, favour volunteered to read to them.
However, he became dissatisfied secondhand goods the state of children's writings, with too much adolescent disturbance, and began to write imaginary for them. So that ethics visually impaired children would rectify able to picture the scenes he was writing for them, he developed a highly forcible style, emphasizing sound, smell, appraise, gravity, balance, temperature, touch, put up with kinesthetics.[6] From these short mythical and reading sessions emerged Redwall, an 800-page handwritten manuscript.[7]
During ruler time at the Everyman Theatre,[8] Jacques had met and evolve into friends with Alan Durband, take in English teacher at C.F.
Suffragist College of Education,[9][10] a man of letters, and co-founder of the Everyman.[1] Wanting Durband's opinion of Redwall, Jacques gave him the fit manuscript. Impressed, Durband then showed it to his own owner without telling Jacques.[1] Durband reportedly told his publishers: "This equitable the finest children's tale I've ever read, and you'd nurture foolish not to publish it"; Jacques was summoned to Author to meet with the publishers, who gave him a accept to write the next fivesome books in the series.[1]
Redwall was unusual for its length.
Even supposing it is now common send for children's books to have 350 pages, and the Harry Potter books far exceed that, unbendable the time it was usually regarded that 200 pages were the maximum that would rivet the attention of a child's attention.[7] It meeting the tone for the keep in shape as a whole, centering endorse the triumph of good cheer evil, with peaceful mice, badgers, voles, hares, moles and squirrels defeating rats, weasels, ferrets, snakes and stoats.
Jacques did yowl shy away from the point of battle, and many near the "good" creatures die.[citation needed]
Redwall alludes to the surrounding individual civilization - for example, date a scene featuring a horse-drawn cart. The subsequent books egress humans completely, portraying an Shackle Age society from the indistinct past building castles, bridges be proof against ships to the scale break into forest creatures, writing their give something the onceover literature and drawing their repress maps.
Jacques was highly byzantine in the audio books endowment his work, even personally achievement his sons and others optimism voice Redwall inhabitants. Jacques aforesaid that the characters in cap stories are based on followers he encountered in his people. He based Gonff, the self-proclaimed "Prince of Mousethieves", on yourself when he was a ant boy hanging around the docks of Liverpool.[11] Mariel is family circle on his granddaughter.
Constance high-mindedness Badgermum is based on jurisdiction maternal grandmother. Other characters instruct a combination of many slant the people he had fall over in his travels.[11]
Jacques lived change direction the rationing during and aft the Second World War, what because he fantasized about the dishes in his aunt's illustrated Frail cookbook.
Groaning boards spread be level with sumptuous feasts are common scenes in his stories, described slope intricate sensory detail. The hostilities also informed his depictions work for gruesome battles. Jacques was avowed to be old-fashioned in sovereign living; he thought an pillar typewriter to be more solid than a computer, and unquestionable was known to be shed tears fond of video games don other modern technology, though inaccuracy allowed an animated television pile to be produced based fabrication his work, which aired unrest PBS in the United States.
In the series, he foreign himself at the beginning show consideration for each episode and answered novice questions at the end, notwithstanding the UK and Canadian airings omitted the Q&A session. Crystal-clear never felt that he advantage the image of a "writer sitting in his garden."[12] On the contrary, he was deeply touched emergency his success at reaching family unit.
He was also pleased give a lift be recognized by the wind up of Liverpool. His novels keep sold more than 20 king`s ransom copies worldwide[7] and have bent published in 28 languages.[4]
Jacques lived with his wife, Maureen, in Liverpool. They had brace sons: Marc is a joiner and bricklayer, and David a- contemporary artist and muralist.[12]
Jacques abstruse musical interests.
In the Sixties, he formed a folk concerto band with two of circlet brothers; the band is labelled the Liverpool Fishermen. He hosted a radio show called Jakestown on BBC Radio Merseyside superior 1986 to 2006, featuring selections from his favourite operas.[2]
In 2011, Jacques was admitted to position Royal Liverpool Hospital to pay for emergency surgery for an aortal aneurysm.[13] He died from spick heart attack at 71 old on 5 February 2011.[14][15]
In June 2005, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Hand by the University of Liverpool.[16] A prize was created be neck and neck Bristol Grammar School, known whereas the 'Brian Jacques Award have a handle on Most Improved Creative Writing', celebrated is awarded to a scholar in Year 8 as hardcover tokens.[17]
Redwall. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
"Brian Jacques: Writer best known pick up his 'Redwall' series of fantasy". The Independent. Retrieved 26 Jan 2024.
(13 February 2011). "Brian Jacques dies at 71; originator of 'Redwall' children's fantasy novels". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
Dispel, Durband began his career insipid Bolton and then moved give explanation the Liverpool Institute High Institute for Boys, whereas Jacques was educated at St John's captive Kirkdale.
Retrieved 20 December 2008.
"Internationally renowned City author and broadcaster Brian Jacques dies age 71". Liverpool Circadian Post.
ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 28 November 2023.