Adams wrote beloved tale of rabbits, ‘Watership Down’
1972 novel has sold millions of copies
London — British author Richard Adams, whose 1972 book “Watership Down” became a classic of children’s literature, has died, according to his daughter. He was 96.
Juliet Johnson told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Adams died in Oxfordshire, England, on Christmas Eve after getting progressively weaker in recent weeks.
“He died of what used to be called old age,” she said, adding that her father also suffered from a blood disorder.
Adams’ lyrical and poignant novel about the plight of rabbits whose home was under threat became an astonishing success after it was published. Popular with both children and adults, it has since sold millions of copies and was made into a film, with a remake scheduled for next year.
It entered the popular imagination and has never been forgotten.
Adams dreamed up the elements of “Watership Down” while working as a civil servant and regaling Juliet and her sister Rosamond with stories about rabbits. He would tell them the stories at bedtime and on car trips, often embellishing the tales while driving the girls to school.
It took Adams three years to write the manuscript. It was rejected by publishers seven times before its publication in 1972.
“By the time it came out I was a teenager,” she said. “But it had been told to me when I was 8. I’m very proud of it. It’s so beautifully written. If you read ‘Watership Down’ out loud, it’s almost poetry. And I think a lot of stuff in it is very relevant now.”
Adams wrote seven other novels after his first success and often asserted that his 1974 novel “Shardik” was a better book.
“Watership Down” was made into a movie in 1978.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, his daughters, Juliet and Rosamond, and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.