Redwall is a series of fantasy novels by Brian Jacques, the first of which was released in 1986. The books are primarily aimed at children, but have fans of all ages. There is an animated TV series based on the books, the first season of which was released in 1999. It was later followed by two more seasons, based on the books Mattimeo and Martin the Warrior. Production for that series is assumed to be finished, but if there is a fourth season, it will likely be based on Mossflower.
The book series does not chronicle any one particular timeframe. Rather, it is set in many different periods in the history of Redwall Abbey. 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.
To learn about Redwall's presence on the internet, see the Redwall Online Community.
General description
The characters in the books are all animals of some sort, most of whom are capable of speech 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 animals in the Redwall books are native to Brian Jacques' home nation of Britain. Also notable are Brian's use of the less common animals; ones such as golden hamsters, found namely in The Taggerung and Triss, and the solitary beaver from Redwall.
Despite the fact that Redwall is a fantasy series, it contains no elements of magic — although in some books certain creatures are called "seers" and possess to varying degrees the ability to predict future events, and while some of these "seers" turn out to be frauds, others such as the fox Seers of The Taggerung and Lord Brocktree, are quite real and play a key part in the turning of events in the book. Books in the series often contain one or more "monsters", but these are not mythical creatures, rather being some type of ferocious predator. These have included snakes (from Redwall and Triss), large carnivorous fish such as pikes (from Marlfox and Mossflower), and a giant sea serpent (from Salamandastron). Also present is the sword of Martin the Warrior, which is believed by many creatures to be magical. This sword is forged from a meteorite's metal, and possesses qualities similar to that of mithril in other fantasy series.
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 contain a small expedition somewhere, and 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 books except in a passing historical sense; one notable exception is Martin the Warrior, who appears in all books that take place after Martin the Warrior (including The Legend of Luke), even if only in spirit form or a more notable historical mention than with other characters. Also, Martin's sword appears in all of the books except Lord Brocktree.
Other recurring elements and characters in the Redwall series include a Badger Lord or Badger Mother; "Dibbuns" (the Redwall name for baby woodlanders); the Skipper of Otters; a Foremole; and a Logalog (leader of shrews).
Characters
Good creatures
- Mice are very often the main characters of the books, especially early in the series. Though small, they can be strong warriors, including the most famous warrior in the books, Martin the Warrior.
- Otters are water-loving creatures, typically living near rivers (or, in the case of sea otters, near the ocean). They are skilled and aggressive fighters, favouring slings and javelins, and are good sailors. They are also noted for liking spicy foods, particularly their favorite dish Hotroot soup. Otters at or near Redwall are led by the Skipper of otters.
- Squirrels are adept climbers and are noted for their speed and dexterity. They are typically expert archers.
- Shrews are the smallest of the woodlanders, but are fierce warriors, fighting with small rapiers. Shrews have their own armed force structure called the Guosim, or Guossom in the book Salamandastron. The shrews live outside the walls of Redwall in the forest, and are allied to the Abbey, retaining a strict hierarchy and generally appearing as akin to human guerrillas.
- Hares are generally good-natured and talkative creatures, and are known for their ability to eat large quantities of food in a single sitting. They are also some of the best trained warriors among the good creatures, and many of them live at Salamandastron.
- Badgers are the least numerous of the regularly appearing good creatures, with each book typically only having one or two badgers, usually the badger lord of Salamandastron. The badgers are huge compared to the other creatures, and accordingly can defeat much larger numbers in battle, especially when they are overcome by the Bloodwrath, a condition in which they are completely focused on the battle and fight with unrivaled ferocity.
- Moles are digging creatures who prefer to stay close to the ground (as opposed to in the trees or on the ramparts of Redwall Abbey. They often provide combat engineer support by undermining enemy building foundations or making useful tunnels. They are also noted for their love of deeper'n'ever turnip'n'tater'n'beetroot pie.
- Hedgehogs as a species are the least defined of the good creatures in the Redwall series. Some are strong fighters, whereas others are herbalists and artisans. Redwall's brewmaster is generally a hedgehog.
Other creatures are less commonly featured, such as sparrows who act as a rudimentary air force. Often, a single predatory animal will come to aid Redwall in its endless battles. Such creatures have included a red kite, a cat, and a family of snowy owls.
Perhaps surprisingly, rabbits have only featured very fleetingly in the series, and when they have, do not appear to have any allegiances at all. It is possible that Jacques is not willing to write rabbits into the books, as they have already been famously fictionalised by Richard Adams in his novel "Watership Down."
The very first book, "Redwall," features a horse pulling Cluny and his rat horde to the abbey in a cart. It is notable that the horse does not appear to have the same sentience as the other animals, and is treated by its rat masters exactly as a human would. Also, both pigs and dogs were mentioned in Redwall, although none appeared in the story itself.
Also in "Redwall," the character Methuselah mentions that he once tended a sparrowhawk with a broken wing. Such birds of prey have ambiguous status in the series, sometimes neutral, sometimes allied to the abbey and sometimes enemies.
Bad creatures
- Rats
- Foxes: Foxes are usually sly, and are frequently seers.
- Stoats
- Ferrets
- Weasels
- Wildcats: Wildcats are sometimes featured, sometimes as the villain, such as Tsarmina from Mossflower and Ungatt Trunn from Lord Brocktree, while other times as benevolent characters like Squire Julian Gingivere from Redwall and Gingivere Greeneyes from Mossflower. (Interestingly, one must note that all the wildcats seen thus far are related. Gingivere and Tsarmina are brother and sister, it's made fairly clear in Mossflower that Squire Julian is Gingivere Greeneyes's descendant, and dialogue in Lord Brocktree reveals that Ungatt Trunn is Tsarmina and Gingivere's uncle. The two exceptions so far are Riggu Felis, the villain of High Rhulain, and Sandingomm)
Bad creatures are collectively known as "vermin"
Locations
Redwall Abbey
Redwall Abbey is the primary home of the good creatures in the books and is located in Mossflower. It is a large brick building with tall walls and a secure gate to protect its residents. Redwall is led by an abbot or abbess, and has brothers and sisters like a typical abbey.
However, despite the use of the word abbey, there is no indication that the animals have any actual religion. Though they will occasionally pray at their feasts, it is not to a deity but rather to nature as a whole. There has been mention made of some sort of "afterlife" called the Dark Forest or Hellgates, but it appears to be the final destination for both "good" and "bad" creatures. Martin The Warrior once came perilously close to death and was observed to be "At the gates of Dark Forest" in Mossflower. Rats and other vermin often use Hellgates instead. They often use "Hell's teeth" as a substitute for an expletive.
Salamandastron
Salamandastron is the fortress of the badger lords and hares, and is located in an extinct volcano. Many of the hares who live in the mountain are members of the Long Patrol, a well-trained military organization that is led by the current badger lord or lady. The residents of Salamandastron are generally peaceful, but are always prepared for the frequent vermin attacks that occur on their fortress, partially because of their close proximity to the ocean and also largely because of the rumors of the riches that exist within Salamandastron.
Criticism
The books have been criticized in some quarters for allegedly promoting an overly simplistic view of race and ethnicity. Critics point out that the "good" and "bad" animal characters are drawn exclusively along species lines, though there are occasional exceptions to this rule (Romsca the ferret and Blaggut the searat both redeemed themselves). These criticisms have been advanced as a concern, as the books are primarily read by children and young people. There is also a "class" element involved in these criticisms, with the denizens of Redwall being either educated, aristocratic animals such as badgers, or rustic, simple creatures such as moles. This contrasts with the "vermin" who are almost exclusively portrayed as a greedy, stupid, and violent rabble commanded by a charismatic evil leader. These narrative structures do resemble in many ways the British class system, with the "upper class" animals governing the "working class" ones, and the Abbey remaining an ever present and strong symbol of religious authority. It is likely that Jacques, who once worked as a truck driver and a docker in Liverpool, is reflecting his own experience of class in his books.
Another criticism is that the "Stormtrooper effect" is prominent in the books. There are a number of battles in which the "good" protagonists are able to kill or defeat large numbers of "bad" animals with minimal loss of life. This effect was not as pronounced in the very earliest books in the series (such as Redwall and Mossflower), but in later books it was not uncommon for a few good beasts to kill hundreds of vermin while only losing one or two of their own soldiers; these "good" soldiers deaths were always intensely publicised, even for minor characters. An example can be found in the death of the mouse Juniper in Martin the Warrior. Major exceptions include the battles from Lord Brocktree, Redwall, the Bellmaker and The Long Patrol, which feature major casualties suffered on both sides and the Legend of Luke which features the wholesale massacre of several good guys at the hands of better equipped and prepared pirate force which surprises them.
However, there are several explanations in the books for why the apparent "Stormtrooper effect" is at least somewhat reasonable. The "good" creatures often have many tactical and positional advantages, such as fighting from the strong fortresses of Redwall and Salamandastron, the use of guerrilla warfare and other unconventional strategies, superior military training (especially among the creatures who do not always live within Redwall), the Bloodwrath (vengeful and frenzied fighting) of the badger lords, and even somewhat supernatural explanations (for example, the guiding spirit of Martin the Warrior appears to confer his years of swordsmanship practice instantly, and his sword is said to be magical by the superstitious). In contrast, the vermin are often poorly organized, rely heavily on their numbers for intimidation purposes, and sometimes allow themselves to be caught off-guard by the woodland forces.
Many fans are concerned about what they perceive as repetition in the series. While the early books are creative, new, and well written, it seems that many of the later books all follow the same structure, cashing in on previously established plotlines: a rebellious youth defeats a villain that wishes to destroy/conquer Redwall; a group of warriors go to retrieve someone/something that will help someone/Redwall while vermin attack their home as they are away; escaped slaves flee to safety where they attempt to find help, return home, and conquer their previous vermin masters. Opposition to this viewpoint claim that most literature falls into the same, repetitive cycles, and that Brian Jacques is no different than many other series of an equal number.
Books of the Redwall series
Ordering
There have been eighteen books published as of May 2006. The most recent book, High Rhulain , was released on September 22, 2005.
The books were not written in the order that the stories take place in the Redwall universe. Below the books are listed both in publication order and in their chronological order within the fictional world of Redwall:
| Publication | Chronological |
|---|---|
|
The first four books take place before the construction of Redwall Abbey, while the fifth takes place during the construction. Some of the books also include sub-stories that take place at other times, such as Martin the Warrior including opening and closing chapters that take place between Mariel of Redwall and The Bellmaker, and the end of Mossflower overlaps with book one and the start of book two of Outcast of Redwall.
Other Redwall-related books
External links
- The official Redwall site
- The Redwall Wiki A collaborative Redwall information resource. Very definitive.
- The Redwall Encyclopedia reference of Redwall names and places. Slightly outdated.
- The Docks A large discussion forum and roleplaying game based on the Redwall series.