Richard George Adams was an English novelist, best known for the novel Watership Down.
Adams was born in Walsh Common, England on May 9, 1920. He studied at Worchester College before entering the British Army in 1940. After his release from the armed forces, he returned to Worcester to continue his studies, receiving a bachelor’s degree in 1948. After graduating, Adams began working for the British Civil Service.
Adams proved himself an imaginative storyteller to his young daughters, telling them the story that would eventually develop in Watership Down as a bedtime tale. On the insistence of his children, Adams committed the story to paper. Two years later this tale of a group of wayward rabbits trying to discover a new home was published, and went on to become an international bestseller. Watership Down has become a classic of children’s literature, with adaptations made for film and television. After the success of his first novel, Adams quit the British Civil Service to become a full-time writer. He went on to release many other beloved books including Shardik and The Plague Dogs.
Adams passed away peacefully on Christmas Eve. He was 96 years old.
