Martha Braebuck was a young female hare resident of Redwall Abbey who was confined to a wheelchair for most of her life. She was the sister of Horty, and known to be very wise and sensible, the complete opposite of her brother. Martha loved to read, especially old volumes from The Gatehouse. While reading a book about Loamhedge Abbey, she received a vision from Martin the Warrior, who told her that he was not much of a reader himself. Martin appeared with Loamhedger Sister Amyl, who provided a riddle regarding a quest to Loamhedge for a potential cure for her condition.
As a result, Horty, Bragoon, Springald, Fenna, and Sarobando journeyed to Loamhedge Abbey to find a cure for her; Martha promised Brag and Saro she would dance for them when she was healed. During Raga Bol's attack on the Abbey, Martha unexpectedly leaped out of her wheelchair to save Abbot Carrul from a sea rat who had climbed through an Abbey window. From then on the hare could walk, weakly at first, but she grew stronger.
Ultimately, the "cure" ended up being a poem penned by Bragoon and Sarobando, and exhorted the use of willpower to overcome confinement to a wheelchair, as nothing was actually found during the Loamhedge trek. Bragoon and Sarobando wrote the poem to avoid disappointing Martha when they found nothing useful in an old tomb at Loamhedge Abbey.
It was alleged that every season she danced and sang on the Abbey wall, keeping her promise to Bragoon and Saro, who had perished during the journey.
Trivia[]
- The dedication page of Loamhedge states that Martha was named for Martha Buckley, a friend of Brian Jacques.
- "Brae" is Scots dialect for the crest of a hill. Buck is the proper term for a male hare or rabbit. Ergo, her family's surname means "Hare from the hilltop."
- Martha may have experienced trauma from her grandmother's death (she died of exhaustion upon arriving at Redwall, and was carrying the infant Martha on her back at the time).
- Martha's condition is a real one - the proper name is Conversion Disorder or Psychosomatic Paralysis. In real life, therapy is usually needed, but some cases do resolve unexpectedly, as hers did, because the prognosis is so varied and individualistic.