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Watership Down by Richard Adams — book cover

Watership Down

by Richard Adams, Aldo Galli (Illustrator)
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Overview

Discover—or revisit—the enchanting world of the Sandleford Warren rabbits in this first-ever illustrated edition of a celebrated modern classic.

A phenomenal worldwide bestseller for almost forty years, Richard Adams’s Watership Down is a timeless classic and one of the most beloved novels of all time. Set in England’s Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage, and survival follows a band of very special rabbits on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they journey forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society.

A book that speaks to our society as vividly as it did nearly half a century ago, this keepsake Scribner Classic edition showcases more than twenty sumptuous, evocative tip-in paintings from Aldo Galli, an illustrator chosen by Richard Adams himself.

About the Author, Richard Adams

The winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Award for Children's Literature, Richard Adams currently lives in Hampshire, England.

Aldo Galli was born in Lombardy, Italy, graduated from the University of Milan, and eventually moved to Hampshire, England, where he met Richard Adams. The friendship that followed and the beauty of the Downs inspired the collection of paintings based on the story.

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Editorials

The Wall Street Journal

To capture the feeling of the verdant English landscape in Richard Adams's "Watership Down" (Atheneum, 496 pages, $29.99), first published in 1972, Aldo Galli painted in the real locations described in the story. In his finely wrought illustrations, the rabbits Hazel and Pipkin crouch beside the real Nuthanger Farm and Hazel, Bigwig and Fiver make their way across the real Hampshire downs. Mr. Galli brings a sense of intensified realism to his depictions in this 40th anniversary edition. Foliage is luxuriantly, impossibly green, and the edges of things—the feathers of birds, the fluff of dandelions—look as sharp as if they were cut from glass. As a gift, this edition would suit anyone over the age of 10, including adults.

Chicago Tribune

"Spellbinding...Marvelous...A taut tale of suspense, hot pursuit and derring-do.

Los Angeles Times

"A classic...A great book."

New York Times Book Review

"Quite marvelous...A powerful new vision of the great chain of being."

Charles McGrath

Here is the Odyssey and Iliad of rabbits, for people of all ages — a splendidly written adventure story.
The New York Times Book of the Century

From Barnes & Noble

Fleeing the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their ancestral home, a band of rabbits encounters harrowing trials posed by predators and hostile warrens — driven only by their vision to create a perfect society in a mysterious promised land known to them as Watership Down. First published in 1972 to world-wide rave reviews and now a modern classic, this is a powerful tale about the destructive impact of our society on nature — written in the same vein as Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.

Book Details

Published
October 23, 2012
Publisher
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Pages
476
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781442444058

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