''Marlfox'' is a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

novel by

Brian Jacques James Brian Jacques (, as in "Jakes"; 15 June 1939 – 5 February 2011), known professionally as Brian Jacques, was an English author known for his ''Redwall'' series of children's fantasy novels and ''Castaways of the Flying Dutchman'' series. ...

, published in 1998. It is the 11th book published and 13th chronologically in the ''

Redwall ''Redwall'' is a series of children's fantasy novels by British writer Brian Jacques, published from 1986 to 2011. It is also the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, as well as the name of the abbey featured in the book, ...

'' series. Marlfoxes are an unusual breed of

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

foxes, which serve as the main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.foxes Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

will attempt to seize Redwall, and hasten onward to warn them, while Guosim from another part of Mossflower do the same. The Marlfoxes consist of High Queen Silth and her brood. They are different from other foxes in their fur, which gives them the ability to blend into almost any surrounding, invisible to all but the keenest eye. This ability has given rise to the false rumour that the Marlfoxes are magic, which they are not. However, Marlfoxes are highly agile and skilled with axes. Castle Marl, home of the Marlfoxes, is situated in the middle of an enormous inland sea, on the island that was once home to

Badger Badgers are medium-sized short-legged omnivores in the superfamily Musteloidea. Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by their squat bodies and adaptions for fossorial activity rather than by the ...

Lord Urthwyte the Mighty. The Marlfoxes command a vast army of water rats, and they travel around the country seeking rare and priceless artifacts. The Marlfoxes, backed by an army of water rats, mount a successful invasion of Redwall and steal the tapestry of the long dead

mouse A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus'' ...

hero,

Martin the Warrior ''Martin the Warrior'' is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 1993. It is the sixth book in the '' Redwall'' series. It is also one of the three ''Redwall'' novels to be made into a television series, alongside the self-titled novel ...

. The Marlfox Ziral is slain, however, and the remaining Marlfoxes swear revenge on the citizens of Redwall.

Mokkan are wooden tablets found at Japanese archaeological sites. Most of the tablets date from the mid-7th to mid-8th century, but some are as late as the early modern period. They have been found in sites across Japan, but mostly around the old capita ...

, one of the Marlfoxes, escapes with the tapestry, leaving his siblings behind. Three young Redwallers, Songbreeze Swifteye the female

Eurasian red squirrel The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris''), also called Eurasian red squirrel, is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus''. It is an arboreal and primarily herbivorous rodent and common throughout Eurasia. Taxonomy There have been o ...

, Dannflor Reguba the male Eurasian red squirrel, and a male Guosim

common shrew The common shrew (''Sorex araneus''), also known as the Eurasian shrew, is the most common shrew, and one of the most common mammals, throughout Northern Europe, including Great Britain, but excluding Ireland. It is long and weighs , and has ve ...

named Dippler set out after Mokkan, trying to retrieve the tapestry. They meet Burble, a

European water vole The European water vole (''Arvicola amphibius'') or northern water vole is a semi-aquatic rodent. It is often informally called the water rat, though it only superficially resembles a true rat. Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep bro ...

, and have many adventures and meet many friends who help them on their journey, such as the gigantic

common hedgehog The European hedgehog (''Erinaceus europaeus''), also known as the West European hedgehog or common hedgehog, is a hedgehog species native to Europe from Iberia and Italy northwards into Scandinavia and westwards into the British Isles.Harris, S. ...

Sollertree, who lost his daughter Nettlebud to the Marlfoxes and water rats, and the Mighty Megraw, a large

osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

who used to live by the Marlfox island but was driven away in an ambush by magpies. Meanwhile, the remaining Marlfoxes lay siege to Redwall. After a series of battles, Songbreeze's father Janglur Swifteye, Dannflor's father Rusvul Reguba, Cregga Rose Eyes the female Eurasian badger, and many others fight off the remaining army, killing the remaining Marlfoxes and restoring peace to Redwall. The surviving

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...

s are divided into eight groups, with each group sent in a different direction. Song, Dann, Dippler and Burble meet some new friends and set out into the great lake to the island. Mokkan finds that Silth has been killed by one of his sisters, Lantur. He promptly kills her by pushing her into the lake full of

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

, proclaiming himself King. However, the companions arrive and overthrow the water rat army. Mokkan escapes in a boat, but an escaped slave, whom we find out is Nettlebud, throws a chain at him and knocks him into the lake, where he is eaten by pike. The surviving water rats are left on the island to become peaceful creatures and farm the land, and the companions return home to Redwall, where Songbreeze Swifteye is named Abbess and Dannflor Reguba is named Abbey Champion by Cregga Rose Eyes, Redwall's blind badgermum. Dippler is named Log-a-log, and Burble is named Chief of the Watervoles. At the end of the novel is a note, stating that the entire tale was made into a drama, edited by one Florian Dugglewoof Wilffachop the

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves ...

Characters in ''Marlfox''

Redwallers and companions

* Songbreeze Swifteye * Dannflor Reguba * Dippler * Burble * Janglur Swifteye *Rusvul Reguba * Cregga Rose Eyes * Florian Dugglewoof Wilffachop *Mighty Megraw *Gawjo Swifteye * Nutwing *Friar Butty (the same Friar Butty from ''The Long Patrol'') *Gurrbowl (the same Gurrbowl from ''The Long Patrol'') *Brother Melilot *Roop *Runktipp *Croikle, Sollertree's pet

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

*Deesum *Dwopple, Deesum's mischievous nephew *Ellayo Swifteye, Janglur's mother and Songbreeze's grandmother *Sister Sloey (the same Sister Sloey from ''The Long Patrol'') *Sollertree *Tragglo Spearback (the same Tragglo Spearback from ''The Long Patrol'') *Gubbio *Nettlebud

Marlfoxes

The "Marl" sub-species of foxes portrayed in ''Marlfox'' actually do exist. Silver coloured foxes are a rare colour mutation of the common

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

. In the novel, the Marlfox characters are: * Silth * The King * Ascrod * Gelltor * Lantur *

* Predak * Vannan * Ziral

Other villains

*Fenno, a rare villainess shrew *Beelu *Athrak, a magpie *Raventail *Gray One, a vole *Durrlow, a water rat who later defected *Ullig *Wilce

Book divisions (English)

*Act 1: Enter the Players *Act 2: Four Chieftains Going Forth *Act 3: The Queen's Island (These divisions are called "acts," instead of "books," as in the other instalments of the series. This is explained by a note at the end stating that it had been edited by Florian, the hare leader of the Wandering Noonvale Companions.)

Translations

*(French) ''Rougemuraille : Les Ombrenards'' *(Italian) ''La Regina di Castel Vulpombra'' *(Russian) ''Белые лисы''

References

External links

Plot summary
{{Redwall 1998 British novels 1998 children's books 1998 fantasy novels British children's novels British fantasy novels Children's fantasy novels Redwall books Children's books about foxes Literature featuring anthropomorphic foxes Hutchinson (publisher) books Novels about foxes