Brian Jacques was - in his own words -“a rogue and a rascal at school”. He left at 15, going to sea in the hope of finding some of the wonderful places he had read about in books. But the reality was never as good as the story and Brian is much happier now that he can explore places through words.

After working as a sailor, Brian returned to Liverpool where he did lots of different jobs, like working on the docks, before he got the chance to have his own radio show called Jakestown.

His real name is James, but as his father and his brother were also called James it seemed easier if he was known as Brian (a bit of a weird family, if you ask me). Brian's early childhood was set against the background of the bombing of Liverpool, and reading was an escape from the grim realities of his life. His father recommended books to Brian calling them 'Good Yarns' and Brian quickly got hooked. His favourite books are The Odyssey, and The Illiad, by Homer.

Brain was inspired to write his famous Redwall series by books such as these, and by listening to a lot of Latin when he was an altar boy in the local church.

Brian has written 14 books in the Redwall series, which have won prizes all over the world.