News:'Redwall': The Advance

Contributed by LordTBT at 9:20PM GMT, 20 October 2008

I mentioned that the Redwall Wiki would have some exciting announcements this month in our annual press release, well wait no longer!

When I first stumbled across it, I was shocked to discover one was actually even in existence. When it arrived in my mailbox, I was more surprised to learn that it appears as if it has never been read.

That's right, the Redwall Wiki has added the incredibly rare U.S. edition of the Advance Uncorrected Proof of Redwall to it's library.

I have included some photos in addition to the scan; the second photo is a comparison to the advance of Doomwyte to demonstrate the size difference. The Redwall proof is smaller.

Worth noting is that Redwall was first published in the UK in 1986, so essentially all the editors had to do was ship it over to New York from London and format the British English into American English; there were no major editorial changes, but the one noticeable error in the proof is the text "Printed and bound in Great Britain" on the copyrights page.

Additionally, Gary Chalk's chapter artwork and map is absent from the advance, which was released for review on June 18, 1987. This was three days after Brian Jacques' birthday that year, and about two months prior to publishing.

Unfortunately we don't learn any early Redwall thoughts going through Brian's mind because the book had already been out for a year. Nor are there any interesting early descriptions of Mr. Jacques himself.

I'm a bit tentative to read through the whole thing to double-check, given the immaculate condition of the galley and I'm worried I could bend a page. Enjoy this look at Redwall history.