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Redwall

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File:RedwallBookCover.jpg
Redwall was the first book in the series by Brian Jacques.
This article is about the Redwall series. For the first book in the series, see Redwall (novel).
For the abbey which provides the name for the series, see Redwall Abbey.

Redwall is a series of fantasy novels by Brian Jacques. It is the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, the name of the Abbey featured in the book, and the name of an animated TV series based on three of the books (Redwall, Mattimeo, and Martin the Warrior), and first aired in 1999. The books are primarily aimed at older children, but have fans of all ages. There have been nineteen novels and two picture books published as of Autumn 2006.

The book series does not chronicle any one particular timeframe. Rather, it is set in many different periods in the history of the world of Redwall, which entails Mossflower woods, surrounding islands, and a land called Southsward. Some of the books focus on characters who, in other volumes, are historical figures (e.g., Martin the Warrior's father, Luke, in The Legend of Luke). Typically, those books are set before the founding of Redwall Abbey. (Note: There is a timeline in the Redwall series, but it generally places the books in a completely different order than the order in which they were written. There were two phases when the novels were published in chronological order.)

Plot summary

The characters in the books are all anthropomorphic animals of some sort, almost all of whom are capable of speech (with a few exceptions like the horse in Redwall), which Jacques renders as various dialects of English. With a few rare exceptions, such as the monitor lizards from The Pearls of Lutra and the Jerbilrats of Loamhedge, the flora and fauna in the Redwall books are all native to Brian Jacques's home nation of Britain.

Despite the fact that Redwall is a fantasy series, it contains no elements of magic. Occasionally, elements of the supernatural or paranormal appear, mainly in two forms. First, the ghost of Martin the Warrior will often appear in dreams or visions to one of the woodland creatures (usually, but not always, an Abbey-dweller) and impart information. The information is always accurate (though often in the form of a riddle that is solved by accident) and is of a nature such that it must have come from the ghost of Martin the Warrior and could not be the result of a creature "solving" a mystery in its sleep and dreaming about Martin the Warrior on its own. Also, some creatures in the books are called "seers" and claim to be able to see the future. While some of these "seers" turn out to be frauds, others such as the seers of Loamhedge, Taggerung and Lord Brocktree are quite real and play a key part in the turning of events in these books. Virtually all of the seers, both real and fraudulent, are vermin, who are generally considered more primitive and superstitious than woodlanders and other goodly creatures. However, in the book Tribes of Redwall Mice, both Martin the Warrior and Abbess Germaine can foresee the future. Also present is the sword of Martin the Warrior, which is believed by many creatures to be magical. This sword was forged from a meteorite's metal at Salamandastron by Badger Lord Boar The Fighter.

Though the primary location is an abbey, and a church of St. Ninian makes appearances, there has been no mention of a creator or godlike deity; however, there have been at least three mentions of the devil, Hell and other demons. After sending one of his minions to death, Cluny the Scourge roars "Tell the devil Cluny sent you!" On another occasion Constance the Badger makes a reference to "Hell's whiskers." According to the ferret Killconey, the snake Asmodeus is named for "the devil himself." While these references from Redwall, the first book, were made before the series had truly realised itself, The Taggerung makes references to an underworld again when a devilish character called "Vulpuz" is mentioned by one seer as the ruler of Hellgates and the ancestor of foxes. In several of the later novels, whenever a creature dies, characters make references to "The Dark Forest" as a place where creatures go after death. The Dark Forest, however, has not been explained further.

Books in the series often contain one or more "monsters", but these are not mythical creatures, rather being some type of ferocious predator. (Occasionally, however, the type of a particular species of monster is never revealed, such as with the Deepcoiler.) Monsters have included snakes (from Redwall and Triss), large carnivorous fish such as pikes (from Marlfox and Mossflower), a Loch Ness monster-type creature (from High Rhulain), a giant scorpion (from Mariel of Redwall) and a giant sea serpent (from Salamandastron).

A typical book in the Redwall series details a particular period in the history of Redwall Abbey. In all but a few cases, the book is about the inhabitants of Redwall and the surrounding Mossflower Woods. Usually, there are at least two different stories going on. For example, a typical book may relate the story of a small expedition by a group of woodlanders, as well as the story of a large group of Redwallers at home fending off a vermin horde. Because of the widely spaced storylines (chronologically speaking), very few creatures are mentioned in more than one or two novels, except in a passing historical sense. One notable exception is Martin the Warrior, who appears in all books, even if, most of the time, only in spirit form or no more than as a passing historical mention. Also, Martin's sword appears in all of the novels. Though he is not mentioned by name in Lord Brocktree, Martin does appear, referred in Brocktree's dream as "a young mouse bearing a beautiful sword".

Other recurring elements and characters in the Redwall series include Badger Lords and Badger Mothers, "Dibbuns" (the Redwall name for toddler woodlanders), the Skipper of Otters, Foremoles, helpful birds, mouth-wateringly detailed descriptions of (almost entirely vegetarian) food, and one or more Log-a-logs (a Log-a-log is a leader of a tribe of shrews).


Books of the Redwall series

There have been nineteen books published so far, with Eulalia having been released, in both hardcover and paperback, on October 18, 2007. [chronology citation needed]

Until 2001, the books were not written in the order that the stories take place in the Redwall universe. The books are listed below, both in publication order and in their chronological order within the fictional world of Redwall:

Title Publication Chronological order
Lord Brocktree 2000 1
Martin the Warrior[2] 1993 2
Mossflower 1988 3
The Legend of Luke 1999 4
Outcast of Redwall 1995 5
Mariel of Redwall 1991 6
The Bellmaker 1994 7
Salamandastron 1992 8
Redwall[2] 1986 9
Mattimeo[2] 1989 10
Pearls of Lutra 1996 11
The Long Patrol 1997 12
Marlfox 1998 13
The Taggerung 2001 14
Triss 2002 15
Loamhedge 2003 16
Rakkety Tam 2004 17
High Rhulain 2005 18
Eulalia! 2007 19
Doomwyte 2008 20
The Sable Quean 2010 21
The Rogue Crew[1] 2011 22
1 Books from which an audiobook has not been made
2 Books on which a TV series has been based

The first three books (in chronological order) take place before the construction of Redwall Abbey, while the fourth takes place during the construction. Many or most of the books that take place before Redwall was constructed are written in the format of a story told by a visitor--for example, Martin the Warrior is told as a story by a descendant of Brome, who was visiting Redwall. These books are organized by the main story, not by the "actual" time period which is almost always after the construction of Redwall.

Most books that are adjacent to each other in chronological order take place within a generation or so of each other (as evidenced by mentions of past characters in the later books). It is notable that, by contrast, there is an indefinitely long chronological gap between Salamandastron and Redwall.

The Redwall Wiki has a collection of cover art of the Redwall novels.

Characters

Main article: List of species in Redwall

In the Redwall universe, species almost invariably (with very few exceptions) determines a creature's nature, whether inherently good or evil. Some common "noble" species in Redwall include mice, otters, moles, hares, squirrels, hedgehogs, and badgers, while common "vermin" include rats, foxes, weasels, ferrets, and stoats. However, many other varieties of species also make appearances throughout the novels as well.

Locations

Main article: The world of Redwall

The Redwall universe is centered around Redwall Abbey, a red sandstone abbey on the outskirts of Mossflower Woods. Built after the events of Mossflower, it is the home to many of the "good" animals of Mossflower Woods. Another important location is the mountain fortress of Salamandastron, home to the Badger Lords. There are many other places, such as the fortress Riftgard, and Green Isle.

Literary significance and reception

From the beginning, Brian Jacques has been praised for his Redwall series, being described as one of “the best children's authors in the world.”[1] The books of the Redwall series have drawn comparisons to everything from J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings[2] to Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows and Richard Adams’s Watership Down.[3] Jacques combines “action, poetry, songs, courage, and vivid descriptions” to create a unique style that spans the seemingly endless series.[4]

The Redwall series has also received praise for its “equal-opportunity adventuring, in which female creatures can be just as courageous (or as diabolical) as their male counterparts.”[5] Novels such as Mariel of Redwall, The Pearls of Lutra, and Triss all feature strong female leading characters. Jacques has also received acclaim for his development of unique language[6] intrinsic to certain species, giving the novels an "endearing dialectal dialogue".[7]

Some reviews have been critical of the Redwall novels for providing too simplistic a view of good and evil.[8] The characteristics of the animals in the novels are fixed by their species, making them quite “predictable”.[9] Also, characters always seem to “epitomize their class origins,” rarely rising above them.[10]

Many reviewers have also criticized the Redwall series for repetition and predictability, citing "recycled" plot lines[11] and Jacques’ tendency to follow a “pattern to the dot.”[12] Of course, other reviewers note that such predictable “ingredients” may be what “makes the Redwall recipe so consistently popular.”[13] Although the series does not continue to break new ground, it does provide satisfying adventures with “comforting, predictable conclusions for its fans.”[14]

Illustrators of Redwall

The current interior artist is David Elliot. He has illustrated six books in the Redwall series, including Eulalia, the latest. He also illustrated the Anniversary edition of Mossflower, with full page illustrations. The series' cover art was created by Troy Howell.

Adaptations

International editions

The Redwall series has been translated into Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and recently Hebrew.

Television series

The first season of the Redwall television series, released in 1999, was based upon the novel Redwall. It was later followed by two more seasons, based on the books Mattimeo and Martin the Warrior. Production for the series is assumed to be finished.

Audiobooks

There have been full-length audiobooks published of Redwall, Mattimeo, Martin the Warrior, The Taggerung, Triss, and Rakkety Tam. Instead of being read by a single actor, the novels are narrated by a large cast. Brian Jacques serves as a narrator for all of the audiobooks, sometimes reading select parts, and his son Marc Jacques appears as the characters Matthias and Martin.

Opera

In 1996, Evelyn Swenson composed an opera based on the first book in the Redwall series. It was produced by Opera Delaware in Wilmington, DE and later toured Europe.[15]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Harrison, Susan, Amazon.com reviews (1992). Editorial review of Salamandastron.
  2. ^ Publisher’s Weekly (1987). Editorial review of Redwall.
  3. ^ Chang, Margaret, School Library Journal (1990). Editorial review of Mattimeo.
  4. ^ Saecker, Tasha, School Library Journal (2005). Editorial review of High Rhulain.
  5. ^ Publisher’s Weekly (1995). Editorial review of The Bellmaker.
  6. ^ Kirkus Reviews (1998). Editorial review of The Long Patrol.
  7. ^ Estes, Sally, Booklist (1995). Editorial review of The Bellmaker.
  8. ^ Estes, Sally, Booklist (1995). Editorial review of The Bellmaker.
  9. ^ Publisher’s Weekly (1996). Editorial review of Outcast of Redwall.
  10. ^ Kirkus Reviews (1992). Editorial review of Mariel of Redwall.
  11. ^ Publisher’s Weekly (1996). Editorial review of The Pearls of Lutra.
  12. ^ Kirkus Reviews (1994). Editorial review of Martin the Warrior.
  13. ^ Publisher’s Weekly (1996). Editorial review of Outcast of Redwall.
  14. ^ Shook, Bruce, School Library Journal (1998). Editorial review of The Long Patrol.
  15. ^ http://www.redwall.org/dave/opera.html
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