With 'Printed in Great Britain by Bristol Typesetting Co., Ltd. First Edition with matching dates of 1972 on the title and copyright pages. The daughters insisted he write it down 'they were very, very persistent.' After some delay he began writing in the evenings and completed it 18 months later. improvised off the top of my head, as we were driving along.' He based the struggles of the animals on the struggles he and his friends encountered during the Battle of Oosterbeek in 1944. As he explained in 2007 in an interview with the BBC, he 'began telling the story of the rabbits. The story has its roots in the tales that Richard Adams made up for his young daughters during long car journeys. The title refers to a hill in the north of Hampshire, England, near the area where Adams grew up. It won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Prize. Although Watership Down was rejected by 13 publishers before Collings accepted it, it has never been out of print, and is Penguin Books' best-selling novel of all time. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box by Asprey. Boldly signed the author on the title page, 'Yours sincerely Richard Adams.' Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Octavo, original brown cloth, folding map. Signed by Author(s).įirst edition of the author's first and most beloved work.

The publisher's printed price of £3.50.net is present to the front flap. There is a small strip of archival tape to the verso of the dust wrapper where the corner of the bottom flap fold is present. The dust wrapper is in very good condition with two closed tears to the base of the spine with a smaller closed tear to the spine tip.There is a small area of faint red staining to the corner of the rear panel with a small patch of soiling to the spine tip.Lightly faded to the spine. Signed and inscribed by the author one year after publication, the inscription reads - TO RUFUS AND PANDORA / VAUGHAN / WITH BEST WISHES FROM / RICHARD ADAMS / AUGUST 1973. The book is free of any previous owner names or inscriptions.

Internally, the pages are clean but there is some foxing to the page block, also with a couple of faint spots to the first two or three pages. The boards are clean, but there is a little spotting to the corner of the spine and front panel. HARDBACK - A very good book, bound in the publisher's brown cloth boards with bright gilt lettering present to the spine.

Watership down first edition