Richard Adams (1920–2016) was a British novelist, best known for his classic Watership Down and the novel Shardik. Winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, he combined epic narrative, folklore, and allegory. Adams redefined modern storytelling by creating a richly mythologised world that spoke to both children and adults.
✨ Watership Down began as a story he invented for his daughters during car trips. 📚 Rejected by several publishers before becoming an international bestseller. 💡 Featured an invented rabbit language called “Lapine.” 🎬 Adapted into a 1978 animated film and a 2018 BBC/Netflix series. 🏞 Adams was a passionate conservationist and served in wildlife organisations. 🖋 Shardik explored themes of power through the image of a giant bear. 🌍 His books have been translated into dozens of languages and sold in millions. 😅 Funny fact: his daughters joked that rabbits “rescued them from boring journeys.” 🤔 Curious note: colleagues were baffled that a civil servant wrote epic tales about rabbits.