When it was first published in 1972, Richard Adam's Watership Down was greeted with a level of critical acclaim and excitement rarely bestowed on a work of fantasy. "I announce with trembling pleasure," the London Times declared, "the appearance of a great story." Among its many admirers was the renowned child psychologist and essayist Bruno Bettelheim, who called the novel "delightful . . . I have not read in many years a more enjoyable book." With this first novel, Richard Adams joined the small company of writers --- J.R.R. Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, C.S. Lewis --- whose work is embraced by all ages and each succeeding generation.
Set in the once idyllic rural landscape of the south of England, Watership Down follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by the doughty Hazel and his oracular brother Fiver, they journey forth from their native Sandleford warren through the harrowing trials posed by predators, hostile warrens, and worse, to a mysterious promised land known to them only as Watership Down. From their travails, they forge a more perfect society, made stronger by the vision that drives them.
A stirring tale of adventure and an imaginative tour de force that conjours up a world and its folklore with the force of myth, Watership Down is a modern classic. Through its masterful storytelling, it stands for all time as a powerful parable about society and its relation to the natural world.
