Who was Richard Adams?

Richard Adams (1920–2016) was a British author who revitalized anthropomorphic fiction. He is best known for Watership Down (1972), a naturalistic story about wild rabbits seeking a new home. Adams grew up in rural Berkshire and served in the Royal Army Service Corps during World War II. He returned to Oxford, graduating in 1948, and then worked in civil service. Adams began writing in 1966, and his daughter's urging led him to pen Watership Down . The novel won the Carnegie Medal in Literature and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in 1972. He is also the author of Shardik (1974) and The Plague Dogs (1977). Adams was president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (1980–82).

What is Richard Adams best known for writing?

Richard Adams is best known for Watership Down (1972), a novel about a group of wild rabbits seeking a new home, which revitalized anthropomorphic fiction. Unlike much anthropomorphic literature, the animal characters in Watership Down , though able to talk, behave as they would in the wild. The rabbits in Watership Down speak Lapine, which has been developed into a functional language by fans. Adams is also the author of Shardik (1974), The Plague Dogs (1977), The Girl in a Swing (1980), Maia (1984), Traveller (1988), Tales from Watership Down (1996), and Daniel (2006).

When was Richard Adams' most famous book published?

Richard Adams' most famous book, Watership Down , about a group of wild rabbits seeking a new home, was published in 1972. It received the 1972 Carnegie Medal in Literature and the 1972 Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. It became a best seller in the United States when published there in 1974.

What is the story of Watership Down about?

Watership Down , by Richard Adams , tells the story of a group of wild rabbits in search of a new home after their warren is threatened by a housing development. The rabbits, though able to talk, behave as they would in the wild. This naturalistic tale follows their journey as they face challenges and travails in their search for a new home. The rabbits speak Lapine, a fictional language that has been further developed by fans.

What inspired Richard Adams to write stories about animals?

Richard Adams began writing in 1966 because he was largely immersed in work and raising a family. While on a car trip with his daughters, he started telling them a story about a warren of rabbits, and they urged him to write it down. Over the next two years, Adams penned the tale, consulting R.M. Lockley’s natural history study The Private Life of the Rabbit (1964) to ensure an accurate depiction of his rabbit protagonists. Unlike much anthropomorphic literature, the animal characters in Watership Down , though able to talk, behave as they would in the wild—fighting, copulating, and defecating.

How did Richard Adams influence other writers and animal stories?

Richard Adams significantly influenced anthropomorphic fiction, particularly with Watership Down , which presented a naturalistic tale of rabbits seeking a new home. Unlike much anthropomorphic literature, Adams's animal characters behaved as they would in the wild, despite being able to talk. Adams also explored animal rights issues in The Plague Dogs . His approach to anthropomorphism differed in Traveller , which was told from the perspective of Robert E. Lee’s horse. Adams's work reinvigorated the genre.

Richard Adams

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Quick Facts

In full:: Richard George Adams

Born:: May 9, 1920, Wash Common, Berkshire [now West Berkshire], England

Died:: December 24, 2016 (aged 96)

Notable Works:: “Maia”; “Shardik”; “The Girl in a Swing”; “The Plague Dogs”; “Traveller”; “Watership Down”

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Richard Adams

British author

Also known as: Richard George Adams

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Richard Pallardy

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Top Questions

Who was Richard Adams?
Richard Adams (1920–2016) was a British author who revitalized anthropomorphic fiction. He is best known for Watership Down (1972), a naturalistic story about wild rabbits seeking a new home.

Adams grew up in rural Berkshire and served in the Royal Army Service Corps during World War II. He returned to Oxford, graduating in 1948, and then worked in civil service.

Adams began writing in 1966, and his daughter's urging led him to pen Watership Down. The novel won the Carnegie Medal in Literature and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in 1972. He is also the author of Shardik (1974) and The Plague Dogs (1977). Adams was president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (1980–82).
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1. Richard Adams
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What is Richard Adams best known for writing?
Richard Adams is best known for Watership Down (1972), a novel about a group of wild rabbits seeking a new home, which revitalized anthropomorphic fiction. Unlike much anthropomorphic literature, the animal characters in Watership Down, though able to talk, behave as they would in the wild. The rabbits in Watership Down speak Lapine, which has been developed into a functional language by fans. Adams is also the author of Shardik (1974), The Plague Dogs (1977), The Girl in a Swing (1980), Maia (1984), Traveller (1988), Tales from Watership Down (1996), and Daniel (2006).
2 Britannica Sources
1. 6 Fictional Languages You Can Really Learn: Lapine: Watership Down
2. Richard Adams
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When was Richard Adams' most famous book published?
Richard Adams' most famous book, Watership Down, about a group of wild rabbits seeking a new home, was published in 1972. It received the 1972 Carnegie Medal in Literature and the 1972 Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. It became a best seller in the United States when published there in 1974.
1 Britannica Source
1. Richard Adams
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What is the story of Watership Down about?
Watership Down, by Richard Adams, tells the story of a group of wild rabbits in search of a new home after their warren is threatened by a housing development. The rabbits, though able to talk, behave as they would in the wild. This naturalistic tale follows their journey as they face challenges and travails in their search for a new home. The rabbits speak Lapine, a fictional language that has been further developed by fans.
2 Britannica Sources
1. 6 Fictional Languages You Can Really Learn: Lapine: Watership Down
2. Richard Adams
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What inspired Richard Adams to write stories about animals?
Richard Adams began writing in 1966 because he was largely immersed in work and raising a family. While on a car trip with his daughters, he started telling them a story about a warren of rabbits, and they urged him to write it down. Over the next two years, Adams penned the tale, consulting R.M. Lockley’s natural history study The Private Life of the Rabbit (1964) to ensure an accurate depiction of his rabbit protagonists.

Unlike much anthropomorphic literature, the animal characters in Watership Down, though able to talk, behave as they would in the wild—fighting, copulating, and defecating.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Ansel Adams: Early life and work
2. Richard Adams
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did Richard Adams influence other writers and animal stories?
Richard Adams significantly influenced anthropomorphic fiction, particularly with Watership Down, which presented a naturalistic tale of rabbits seeking a new home. Unlike much anthropomorphic literature, Adams's animal characters behaved as they would in the wild, despite being able to talk. Adams also explored animal rights issues in The Plague Dogs. His approach to anthropomorphism differed in Traveller, which was told from the perspective of Robert E. Lee’s horse. Adams's work reinvigorated the genre.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Richard Adams (born May 9, 1920, Wash Common, Berkshire [now West Berkshire], England—died December 24, 2016) was an English author known for reinvigorating the genre of anthropomorphic fiction, most notably with the beloved children’s book Watership Down (1972; film 1978), a novel that presents a naturalistic tale of the travails of a group of wild European rabbits seeking a new home.

Adams was raised in a rural community outside Newbury, Berkshire, where he led an isolated childhood mostly occupied by exploring his bucolic surroundings. He enrolled at Worcester College, Oxford, in 1938, but the advent of World War II the next year necessitated the postponement of his studies. In 1940 he enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps, joining an airborne company. Following the war, Adams completed a bachelor’s degree in modern history at Oxford (1948). He found work with the civil service, eventually advancing to assistant secretary in the precursor to the Department of the Environment in 1968. (He cowrote the version of the Clean Air Act passed that year.)

Because he was largely immersed in work and raising a family (he married in 1949), Adams did not begin writing until 1966. While on a car trip with his daughters, he began telling them a story about a warren of rabbits; the girls urged him to put the story to paper. Adams penned the tale over the next two years, consulting R.M. Lockley’s natural history study The Private Life of the Rabbit (1964) to ensure the accurate depiction of his rabbit protagonists, who leave their oppressive warren after it is threatened by a housing development. What emerged was a sui generis work of fiction: unlike much anthropomorphic literature, the animal characters in Watership Down, though able to talk, behave as they would in the wild—fighting, copulating, and defecating.

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The work was rejected by several publishing houses before a small independent publisher accepted it. The novel received rave reviews in Britain and was honoured with the 1972 Carnegie Medal in Literature and the 1972 Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. The book became a runaway best seller in the United States when it was published there in 1974.

The profits allowed Adams to begin writing full-time that year. Shardik (1974) relates the formation of a religion centred on a giant bear; the protagonists are human. The Plague Dogs (1977; film 1982) explores issues of animal rights through the tale of two dogs that escape from a research facility—possibly carrying the bubonic plague. The novels The Girl in a Swing (1980; film 1988) and Maia (1984) drew attention for their graphic depictions of sexuality. Adams took a different approach to anthropomorphism with Traveller (1988), told from the perspective of Robert E. Lee’s horse. He returned to his intrepid rabbits with Tales from Watership Down in 1996. Daniel (2006) concerns a former slave who becomes an abolitionist.

Adams wrote two works of nonfiction with Max Hooper, Nature Through the Seasons (1975) and Nature Day and Night (1978), and another with Lockley, Voyage Through the Antarctic (1982). His autobiography, The Day Gone By, was published in 1990.

Adams was president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (1980–82). He was inducted into the Royal Society of Literature in 1975.

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