Richard Adams, Watership Down

Graeme Davis (University of Buckingham)

Ed. by Dimitra Fimi, University of Glasgow
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1972 - 1972

Places

United Kingdom (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Children's Literature

Resources

Watership Down, written by Richard Adams and published 1972 by Rex Collings Ltd, London, has established itself as one of the best-known books of the twentieth century. It is both a classic of children’s literature and a book widely read by adults, and is a world-bestseller with over 50 million sales.

The genre is that of a fantasy epic adventure, but with rabbits as protagonists. The bare plot is the flight of a group of rabbits led by a young buck, Hazel, from their threatened home warren of Sandelford, and their establishment of a new warren at Watership Down. In doing so the rabbits brave dangers from predators, humans, and from other rabbits. It is divided into four parts, each of novel length. The first part …

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2446 words

Citation: Davis, Graeme. "Watership Down". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 February 2020 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38983, accessed 26 April 2024.]

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