I think it's fair to say an essential part of any Redwall collection would be the UK hardcovers. After all, Brian Jacques is from the UK, and it's where the series was first published.
Not to mention the wonderful cover artwork of Pete Lyon, Fangorn, and David Wyatt.
While collecting so many international editions over the years, I realized I only had two UK hardcovers. I decided to remedy this in the fourth quarter of 2020. That's right, we set about amassing EVERY Redwall UK hardcover for the Redwall Wiki library, as well as the UK Castaways of the Flying Dutchman hardcovers.
This was no easy task even though we're two decades into the 21st century. In fact, that's what makes it slightly difficult. However now that we've accomplished this feat, we're going to share what we've learned if you also wish to do so.
Our UK Redwall hardcover set includes All five Redwall hardcovers (original 1986 edition, the 1990 reprint, the 1994 reprint, the 10th Anniversay edition, and the Author's Limited Edition), the original 1988 edition of Mossflower and its 1994 reprint, as well as every other hardcover in the Redwall and Castaways series published in Great Britain. The last published UK hardcover was High Rhulain.
How to buy Redwall UK editions[]
Here's everything that you need to know about purchasing Redwall editions from the United Kingdom.
-THERE aren't many UK hardcover editions of the books available nowadays. To put things into perspective, the last time a new U.S. hardcover Redwall book was printed was approximately 10 years ago. For the UK, 15 years ago. And the older books? More than 20 years ago. More than 20 million Redwall books have been sold, but in some cases less than a dozen of a UK hardcover edition are available for sale online, sometimes even fewer. And it's likely it may cost you if the seller considers it in fine condition.
-UNLESS there is a seller image, you literally have no idea what you're getting. Stock images can be wrong. Many sellers live and work nowhere near their books, which are shipped from warehouses in different geographic locations. If you want to know something specific, they often can't inspect a book for you. You're rolling the dice each and every time.
-MOST UK editions will be located ... in the UK. Be prepared to pay for shipping to your country, which may be expensive, especially now. In fact, some UK sellers may not even be shipping to the U.S. at all during the pandemic. Some of the later editions can be found stateside though. Shipping times can vary. Occasionally, books appeared in my mailbox from across the pond in less than seven days. However sometimes it took more than 21 days.
-EX-LIBRARY editions are a frequent type of bookseller listing. This means it may have library stickers or stamps inside, or the dust jacket could be taped to the book. If this doesn't bother you, there's no need to be concerned. Read listing descriptions closely.
-GRADING is very subjective. I bought a book that was described as in "excellent condition," but when it arrived, there was no dust jacket. But then there are nice surprises, where something evaluated as "good" ends up being perfect. Once again, you're gambling.
-YOU'RE going to have some misses. Since it's impossible to predict what's going to show up on your doorstop, be prepared to have to re-purchase something. We had five books show up that weren't necessarily as described, or that we deemed unsuitable for the Redwall Wiki Official Library. That meant we had to re-order from different sellers.
-BOOKS aren't always packed safely. Another thing that varies from seller to seller is how the book is packaged. Some books might be nicely wrapped inside the parcel in bubble wrap or packing papers. Others could simply be tossed in an envelope and shipped. Be prepared for possible transit damage.
-TRACKING numbers may not be provided to you. As such, your package could show up at any time. And, just because you have a tracking number, this doesn't mean the "seller" has actually shipped your book. Carefully monitor tracking to make sure it departs its origin point.
-LET'S talk expenses. We're not going to sugarcoat it: purchasing 20-21 hardcovers will cost you hundreds of dollars. And as we said before, you'll want to budget for misses, which are bound to happen. But of course, you don't have to locate every book all at once like we did.
That about covers it. Good luck, Redwallers!
- Want to keep up-to-date on all the latest Redwall and Brian Jacques news, reviews, and special features? Get social with us!
| YouTube | TikTok | Threads | Bluesky |