Richard George Adams (9 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist and writer of the books ''

Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Berkshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natural w ...

'', ''

Maia Maia (; Ancient Greek: Μαῖα; also spelled Maie, ; la, Maia), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is one of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes, one of the major Greek gods, by Zeus, the king of Olympus. Family Maia is the daugh ...

'', ''

Shardik ''Shardik'' is a 1974 fantasy novel by Richard Adams. ''Shardik'' is his second novel, and first of two novels set in the fictional Beklan Empire. The events revolve around the discovery, capture and military and symbolic uses made of an incredi ...

'' and ''

The Plague Dogs ''The Plague Dogs'' is the third novel by Richard Adams, author of ''Watership Down'', about the friendship of two dogs that escape an animal testing facility and are subsequently pursued by both the government and the media. It was first pub ...

''. He studied modern history at university before serving in the British Army during World War II. Afterwards, he completed his studies, and then joined the

British Civil Service His Majesty's Home Civil Service, also known as His Majesty's Civil Service, the Home Civil Service, or colloquially as the Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy or secretariat of Crown employees that supports His Majesty's Government, whi ...

. In 1974, two years after ''Watership Down'' was published, Adams became a full-time author.

Early life

Richard Adams was born on 9 May 1920 in

Wash Common Wash Common is a small suburb to the south of Newbury. It is built on the former Newbury Wash, which was flat open heathland overlooking Newbury, and until the 19th century there was just a small group of houses separated from Newbury by open co ...

, near Newbury, Berkshire, England, the son of Lillian Rosa (Button) and Evelyn George Beadon Adams, a doctor. He attended

Horris Hill School Horris Hill, is an independent day and boarding preparatory school for boys aged 4–13. It is located in Hampshire in England, south of Newbury in West Berkshire and near the village of Newtown. The school was founded on its present site in 1 ...

from 1926 to 1933, and then

Bradfield College Bradfield College, formally St Andrew's College, Bradfield, is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 11–18, located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is not ...

from 1933 to 1938. In 1938, he went to

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms ...

, to read Modern History. In July 1940, Adams was called up to join the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

. He was commissioned into the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and d ...

and was selected for the Airborne Company, where he worked as a brigade liaison. He served in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

, Europe, and East Asia but saw no direct action against either the Germans or the Japanese. After leaving the army in 1946, Adams returned to Worcester College to continue his studies for a further two years. He received a bachelor's degree in 1948, proceeding MA in 1953. After his graduation in 1948, Adams joined the British Civil Service, rising to the rank of Assistant Secretary to the

Ministry of Housing and Local Government The Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed following the Second World War, covering the areas of housing and local government. It was formed, as the Ministry of Local Government and Planning, ...

, later part of the

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

. He began to write his own stories in his spare time, reading them to his children and later on, to his grandchildren.

Career

Adams originally began telling the story that would become ''

'' to his two daughters on a car trip. They eventually insisted that he publish it as a book. He began writing in 1966, taking two years to complete it. In 1972, after four publishers and three writers' agencies turned down the manuscript,

Rex Collings Rex Collings (18 June 1925 – 23 May 1996) was an English publisher who specialized in books relating to Africa and children's books. He ensured the publication of Wole Soyinka's plays, and was the first to publish ''Watership Down'' (1972) by Ri ...

agreed to publish the work. The book gained international acclaim almost immediately for reinvigorating anthropomorphic fiction with naturalism. Over the next few years ''Watership Down'' sold over a million copies worldwide. Adams won both of the most prestigious British children's book awards, one of six authors to do so: the Carnegie Medal and the

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults (at least age eight) and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author ...

. In 1974, following publication of his second novel, ''

'', he left the Civil Service to become a full-time author. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...

in 1975. At one point, Adams served as writer-in-residence at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

and at

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States ...

in Virginia. Adams was the recipient of the inaugural Whitchurch Arts Award for inspiration in January 2010, presented at the Watership Down pub in

Freefolk Freefolk is a village in Hampshire, England. It lies to the west and almost directly alongside the village of Laverstoke; the two villages are separated by the River Test. It is about east of Whitchurch and west of Overton on the B3400 road ...

, Hampshire. In 2015 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the

University of Winchester , mottoeng = Wisdom and Knowledge , established = 1840 - Winchester Diocesan Training School1847 - Winchester Training College1928 - King Alfred's College2005 - University of Winchester , type = Public research university ...

Public figure

In 1982, Adams served one year as president of the

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

. Besides campaigning against furs, Adams wrote ''

'' to satirize animal experimentation (as well as government and tabloid press). He also made a voyage through the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and o ...

in the company of the ornithologist

Ronald Lockley Ronald Mathias Lockley (8 November 1903 – 12 April 2000) was a Welsh ornithologist and naturalist. He wrote over fifty books on natural history, including a major study of shearwaters, and many articles. He is perhaps best known for his bo ...

. Just before his 90th birthday, he wrote a new story for a charity book, ''Gentle Footprints'', to raise funds for the

Born Free Foundation The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals in ...

Personal life

In 1949, Adams married Elizabeth (Barbara), daughter of R.A.F. Squadron-Leader Edward Fox Dyke Acland, son of the barrister and judge Sir Reginald Brodie Dyke Acland, whose father, the scientist Henry Wentworth Dyke Acland (himself created a baronet of St Mary Magdalen, Oxford) descended from the

Acland baronets There have been four baronetcies created for members of the Acland family, which originated in the 12th century at the estate of Acland in the parish of Landkey, North Devon, two in the Baronetage of England and two in the Baronetage of the Uni ...

of Columb John. Until his death, he lived with his wife in Whitchurch, within of his birthplace. Their daughters, to whom Adams originally related the tales that became ''Watership Down'', are Juliet and Rosamond. Adams celebrated his 90th birthday in 2010 with a party at the White Hart in his hometown of

Whitchurch, Hampshire Whitchurch is a town in the borough of Basingstoke and Deane in Hampshire, England. It is on the River Test, south of Newbury, Berkshire, north of Winchester, east of Andover and west of Basingstoke. Much of the town is a Conservation Area. ...

, where

Sir George Young George Samuel Knatchbull Young, Baron Young of Cookham, (born 16 July 1941), known as Sir George Young, 6th Baronet, from 1960 to 2015, is a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 2015, hav ...

presented him with a painting by a local artist. Adams wrote a poetic piece celebrating his home of the past 28 years. Adams described himself as an Orthodox Christian. Adams died on 24 December 2016 at the age of 96 in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

, England from complications of a blood disorder.

Works

*''

'' (1972) *''

'' (1974) *''Nature Through the Seasons'' (1975) *''The Tyger Voyage'' (1976) , with

Nicola Bayley Nicola Bayley (born August 18, 1949) is a Singaporean-born British children's book illustrator and author. She is most known for her illustrations of cats, including in the books ''The Tyger Voyage'' by Richard Adams, '' The Mousehole Cat'' by A ...

(reprinted 2013,

David R. Godine, Publisher Godine is a New England based independent book publisher, known for its beautifully published and carefully selected books, primarily nonfiction, literary fiction, and poetry. History The company was founded in 1970 by David R. Godine who acted a ...

, ) *''

'' (1977) *''

The Ship's Cat ''The Ship's Cat'', also known under its full title of ''The Adventures & Brave Deeds Of The Ship's Cat On The Spanish Maine: Together With The Most Lamentable Losse Of The Alcestis & Triumphant Firing Of The Port Of Chagres,'' is a 1977 childre ...

'' (1977, text of

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

illustrated by

Alan Aldridge Alan Aldridge (8 July 1938 – 17 February 2017) was a British artist, graphic designer and illustrator. He is best known for his psychedelic artwork made for books and record covers by The Beatles and The Who. Personal life Aldridge was born ...

) *''Nature Day and Night'' (1978) (with

M. D. Hooper Max Dorien Hooper (20 November 1934 – 10 February 2017) was an English naturalist and the inventor of "Hooper's rule", which is used to estimate the age of a hedgerow. He received the Peter Scott Memorial Award. Selected publications *''Hed ...

) *'' The Girl in a Swing'' (1980) *''The Iron Wolf and Other Stories'' (1980), published in the US as ''The Unbroken Web: Stories and Fables''. Color Illustrations by

Yvonne Gilbert Anne Yvonne Gilbert (born 1950/1951) is a British artist and book illustrator. Her cover design of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 1983 single "Relax" has been described as "one of the most famous record sleeves of all time". While much of her caree ...

, b&w illustrations by

Jennifer Campbell Jennifer Campbell (born c. 1945) is an American politician and retired physician serving as a member of the San Diego City Council from the 2nd district. On December 10, 2020, she was elected the city council president. Less than one year later, ...

. *''The Legend of Te Tuna'' (1982),

Sylvester & Orphanos Sylvester & Orphanos was a publishing house originally founded in Los Angeles by Ralph Sylvester, Stathis Orphanos and George Fisher in 1972. When Fisher moved to New York City, ''Sylvester & Orphanos'' specialized in limited-signed press books. Or ...

, *''Voyage Through the Antarctic'' (1982 with

), Allen Lane *''

'' (1984) *''A Nature Diary'' (1985) , *''The Bureaucats'' (1985) , *''

Traveller Traveler(s), traveller(s), The Traveler(s), or The Traveller(s) may refer to: People Generic terms *One engaged in travel *Explorer, one who searches for the purpose of discovery of information or resources *Nomad, a member of a community withou ...

'' (1988) *''The Day Gone By'' (autobiography) (1990) *''

Tales from Watership Down ''Tales from Watership Down'' is a collection of 19 short stories by Richard Adams, published in 1996 as a follow-up to Adams's highly successful 1972 novel about rabbits, '' Watership Down''. It consists of a number of short stories of rabbit ...

'' (collection of linked stories) (1996) *''The Outlandish Knight'' (1999) *''Daniel'' (2006) *"Leopard Aware" in ''Gentle Footprints'' (2010)

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * *
Richard Adams at Wrecking Ball PressRichard Adams' Desert Island Discs appearance - 5 November 1977
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Richard George 1920 births 2016 deaths 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II Carnegie Medal in Literature winners Constructed language creators English children's writers English fantasy writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Guardian Children's Fiction Prize winners People educated at Bradfield College People from Newbury, Berkshire People associated with Sandleford, Berkshire University of Florida faculty Writers from Berkshire Military personnel from Berkshire Royal Army Service Corps officers Civil servants in the Ministry of Housing and Local Government Civil servants in the Department of the Environment British expatriates in Mandatory Palestine British expatriates in the United States