Watership Down

Where it came from

Inspired by real places and people, classical myths and the talking animals in The Jungle Book, Richard Adams invented the story to entertain his two young daughters on long car journeys. Two years and many rejections later it was published to international acclaim and Adams gave up his job as a civil servant to become a full-time writer.

Where it went next

Watership Down won the Carnegie Medal and Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and sold over a million copies. It was adapted into an animated film in 1978, television series in 1999, and BBC Netflix miniseries in 2014. It has inspired many writers including the screenwriters of hit TV show Lost.

Associated stories

In 1996 Adams published Tales from Watership Down, a collection of myths from rabbit folklore and short stories about the characters in Watership Down.

Adams other books include Shardik and The Plague Dogs and a picture book, The Adventures of the Egg Box Dragon, published in 2017 with illustrations by Alex T Smith.