Richard George Adams (1920-2016), best known for his novel

Watership Down

(1972), was born near Newbury in Berkshire, UK and lived most of his life within forty miles of his birth-place. He came to writing late in life, with

Watership Down

facilitating an early retirement from the Civil Service (aged 54), and his subsequent writing was continuous over forty-two years. The themes of Adams’ writing strongly reflect influences from earlier life, particularly his education, his war-time experiences including the loss of many friends, his career with the Civil Service, and his family.

Adams came from a middle-class family, and as was usual for the children of such a family at this time was sent at the age of eight to a boarding Preparatory school, Horris Hill, Berkshire (1929-1933). The

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Citation: Davis, Graeme. "Richard Adams". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 October 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14488, accessed 28 March 2024.]

14488 Richard Adams 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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