Like the pain of a bad wound, the effect of a deep shock takes some while to be felt. When a child is told, for the first time in his life, that a person he has known is dead, although he does not disbelieve it, he may well fail to comprehend it and later ask--perhaps more than once--where the dead person is and when he is coming back.

The book gained international acclaim almost immediately. In 1974 following publication of his second novel Shardik he left the Civil Service to become a full-time author. color Illustrations by Yvonne Gilbert b&w illustrations by Jennifer Campbell.

He studied modern history at university before serving in the British Army during World War II. In 1974 two years after Watership Down was publiRichard Adamsd Adams became a full-time author. Richard George Adams (born 9 May 1920) is an English novelist who is best known as the author of Watership Down.