Calling all Watership Down fans, post your Q's to Richard Adams to find out everything you've ever wanted to know about this epic novel.

[TinaMumsnet]

WATERSHIP DOWN FANS take note: Now is your chance to ask author Richard Adams everything you've ever wanted to find out about this epic novel and his other work.

Post your questions before the 23 November and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win one of three book-sets signed by Adams, which include Shardik, Watership Down, The Plague Dogs, and Tales From Watership Down.

Adams - who currently lives in Hampshire with his wife Elizabeth, to whom he has been married for 65 years - originally began telling the story of Watership Down, his first book, to his two daughters to while away a long car journey to Stratford-on-Avon. They insisted he write it down, and it became a huge success on publication with people of all ages, winning both the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and the Carnegie Medal. Watership Down is now considered a modern classic, and recently appeared at number 37 on the Sunday Times list of bestsellers in the last 40 years.

We'll be sending over your questions to Richard on the 23 November; answers will be posted on this thread approximately two weeks later.

[RichardAdams]

@hebihebi

Watership Down is my favourite book of all time and I love the society that they aspired to build. I have read it many times over. My favourite line is when Bigwig says that his Chief Rabbit told him to stay and defend this run. It always brings tears to my eyes.

But I'm surprised it's considered a children's book. Surely that can't be correct? Do you consider it a children's book?

I have added Shardik to my reading list. Thank you!

I think some people consider it to be a children’s book but I don’t. I am against the whole conception of a children’s book. There are only books that people like reading. Take The Wind in the Willows – lots of adults like reading that too. I think there is no such thing as a children’s book, but there is a book that children like reading. Take Peter Rabbit. That has altered childhood. Before that there were no such favourites. There are more that 20 of Beatrix Potter’s stories and everybody reads them.

[MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig]

I loved this book as a child. I still have my childhood copy. It is in bits, the pages have come away from the spine and I think one or two are missing. It is one of my most beloved possessions from my childhood.

So many of us have grown up with this amazing book. It is just a beautiful story. I have read it so many times. I can't wait until my children are old enough to read it and then they can enjoy it and we can share it together.

Thank you Richard.

[RichardAdams]

@WinifredBanks

Dear Richard,

The Girl In A Swing has been one of my favourite books for the last 3 decades now, having been re-read on numerous occasions.

Would you be able to you tell me whether you think of the adult Alan as physically unprepossessing ("pig face"), or whether he is actually perfectly pleasant-looking, given that he is able to attract both Barbara and the beautiful Karin?

Also, I realise that it was clearly the child's toy, but can you tell me anything I might have missed about the significance of the stuffed tortoise?

I also think Watership Down is splendid, but can never thank you enough for having written The Girl In A Swing.

No, Alan is a nice-looking chap. When he was little he may have been pig face, but he grew up a perfectly nice-looking man.

[RichardAdams]

@NewLife4Me

I loved the film, saw it at the cinema when it came out, and read the book as well.
My dd saw the film a couple of years ago on tv, but as it was so old had not seen any publicity or media reports about it.
It was more a case of I'm going to watch this film as nothing else to do.

Apart from parents recommending the films/books do you have any plans to introduce your work to the next generation. Some children whose parents are less literate would love your work.

Why, I think the plans must come from the people who have liked my work and want to keep it alive. It is my hope that my best work will survive into the next generation and beyond. But I think it is for those who have loved the work and want to perpetuate it, not for me, to say.

[RichardAdams]

@angie95

HI Richard,
I read Watership Down, when I was thirteen, and have read it so many times, having to re buy copies! I know you wrote Tales of Watership Down, but will you ever write another one, about Watership Down? (please,, write one )

No. I think that has been done and it is complete and it would not be possible to add to what I have already written.

[RichardAdams]

@Witchend

Richard, this has been my oldest daughter's comfort read since she was about 10yo, she's now 15yo. She doesn't normally reread books at all. So thank you!

You said fairly recently you wrote the book for your two daughters, initially telling them the story on a car journey.
Which of the rabbits are closest in character to your daughters, and did you do that deliberately or is it something that just happened as you told it?

I don’t think any of them are based on my daughters! The answer is none.

[RichardAdams]

@SuzCG

Watershed Down - one of my all time favourite books (that can still make me cry to this day - the power of the written word!) and one now that I can share with my children.

Were the rabbit characters based on anyone you knew - they are all so distinct and almost human that I feel they must have been? Or was this just your amazing writing and how you wanted your readers to feel??

No, I cannot think any in connection to anyone I knew. Perhaps Dandelion the storyteller was based on myself.

[RichardAdams]

@mandalee

Hi, Richard! Must admit I'm a bit star-struck even typing this - Watership Down is on my short list of lifetime favourite books. I think I must have read it at least ten times!

One of the things I love so much about it is the poetry of the rabbits' expression - they are clearly creatures of myth and song, and the stories they tell harken back to many of our own creation stories. First, did you draw on any culture in particular when crafting the rabbits' mythology? And second, do you think you were influenced by any poets' work?

Thank you! Both for the chance to ask these questions, and the opportunity to tell you what an impact you had on my life as a child - it hasn't stopped yet!

Cheers and best wishes to you.

Obviously there must have been influences. Perhaps my knowledge of Ancient Greece and Rome but also fairytales and folk stories. The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell had a huge influence on my work and when I met him he was such a marvellous character full of stories and cultures. So I can honestly say he had a profound influence on me.
Perhaps one poet who had a great influence on me was Walter de la Mare. Anyone who knows his work will be able to see his influence in my work.

[RichardAdams]

@barricade

What an awesome competition! 'Watership Down' is one of my all-time favourite books (the animated film isn't bad either, but only because of the story). A signed book set? .... Wow!!

I'd like to ask Richard a couple of general questions, if I may (many of the questions I wanted to ask have already been done so) ......

QUESTION ONE:- Do you have a personal favourite out of the books you've had published? And/or out of books published by other authors?
QUESTION TWO:- In addition to 'Watership Down', 'The Plague Dogs' and 'The Girl In A Swing' were also adapted into films. With the advancements in CGI and on-screen visual effects, we have seen previously unfilmable literary classics finally make it to the big screen. Is there a chance of any other of your books being optioned for film or television?
QUESTION THREE:- What's next? Is there another book on the horizon, and if so, do you have a specific genre or theme in mind?

QUESTION ONE:

It varies from day to day. On Monday I might think Watership Down but then on Tuesday it might be Shardik. Then on Wednesday I might think The Girl in a Swing. Its all a matter of how you feel at any particular time.

QUESTION TWO:

That is up to the films and television. I don’t make options and have to wait for the people to come to me. There is however, a new series of Watership Down under production for the BBC at the moment but it wont be on our screens until late 2017.

QUESTION THREE:

I doubt whether I will write another book because it is such hard work.

[RichardAdams]

@VikingLady

After reading the Plague Dogs (and crying a LOT) I'd like to know what your views are on animal testing.

It certainly made my teenage self think about it a lot more!

I feel very strongly on this subject. The thing is that animals have no choice in the matter and such things are done purely for the profit and good of human beings. They are victims of science and discovery. It’s little good they get out of it. So I think animal testing should be considered very carefully. There should be a Minister to consider animal testing with the power to say “No!” to some tests.

[RichardAdams]

@TinklyLittleLaugh

I think Shardik is a great book and Maia is a great yarn. Did you not consider writing any more novels in that universe? I think the way you combine beautiful writing with realistic, sometimes unpleasant, detail, all in a vast epic fantasy setting, makes you very much the forerunner of books like Game of Thrones and Prince of Thorns, that are having massive success currently.

Your novels are all so very different. Is it a conscious decision to try lots of different genres, or do you just go with the flow?

I have considered it but the real trouble is that it was such hard work writing Shardik, thinking of all the dangers and troubles. It was a book so full of labour for the author that I don’t think I could manage another book like Shardik.

It was a conscious decision to try lots of different genres. It seemed that the public would want to buy them more. Once they realised that they were getting something different I thought they would like it. It was my decision to vary the incidents and the characters as much as possible so that they would want to buy the different books.

[RichardAdams]

@jeanthom

What can we do to prevent situations such as councils allowing building on green spaces and diminishing resources for wildlife? Lovely to see the book again - that could help revive consciences ...

I don’t know that we can do any more than giving Councils the power to refuse to allow building on green spaces. Some are very good, but others not so good. The Councils have the power and that is all that can be done. It is a grave evil that as the resources diminish so will the wildlife. The Councils allow building because it gives them more money in paying Rates and they like to have lots of money, so that is why they allow building on green spaces.

[RichardAdams]

@booksrock

I love water ship down and am planning to have the poem about frith being read at my funeral , hopefully not for a long time yet!

I was a local to the downs and on a school trip saw a tree with the rabbits names written on it. Have you seen the tree? Do you have a special love of the south dreams

Yes I have seen that tree and the rabbits’ names carved on it with a knife. It is a beech tree, the bark very good for cutting names on. I have a special love of the downs, they are so high up. There is the sunshine and the ability to see the world all around below. In Summer it is so warm and friendly.

[RichardAdams]

@suchamere

Hello - firstly, thank you for writing such a wonderful book! I have often wondered why you chose rabbits? Did you have them as pets or was it just that their society is similar to our own? Also, how much did your experience of the army influence your writing and the characters? Did you know a general Woundwort!?

I think the rabbits chose me! The rabbits entered my thoughts and stayed there. Attractive creatures, friendly and not fierce.

In the Army I learned what it was to live in a group, a tribe, to be one in a whole lot of people just as rabbits are in a whole lot of rabbits. Also in the Army leadership is of great importance. It is essential to have leadership in the Army just as the rabbits did.

[RichardAdams]

@SunnyPath

I read Watership Down to my 11 year old recently and she really enjoyed it but got bored with the extra stories which the rabbits tell. (Sorry!) I was wondering whether the stories make it a bit slow for today's readers. So my question is 'If you were writing the book now, would you change anything from how you wrote it originally?'

No, I would not change anything. It has been so successful it should not be altered in any particular.

[RichardAdams]

@lljkk

(I've got a copy of the Plague Dogs I'll be reading the week after next while travelling.)

Do you have a favourite animal?

Yes! Rabbits are my favourite animal although in the home it would be the cat. Outside in the world though, rabbits.

[RichardAdams]

@BathshebaDarkstone

Who's your favourite character?

My favourite character is Hazel because he was the leader and had more work to do than any of the others and it was a load that he carried.

[RichardAdams]

@Givemecoffeeplease

How did you come up with the names for all the animals? Is there any significance to any of them? Fiver is my favourite name of the bunch.

The names just occurred to me spontaneously in my head There is no particular significance to any of them.

[RichardAdams]

@BearAusten

I have very strong emotional memories of both the film and the novel Watership Down. (My copy was, and still, is an old tattered one from a primary school jumble sale.)

Who did you write Watership Down for?

Do you have a special affinity to animals?

I wrote it for my two little girls. They liked a story and were always asking me for one.

When I was at home I was much the youngest so I made companions with the animals around me and that was my special affinity.

[RichardAdams]

@Cmoore7351

What was the inspiration for the names of the characters in the story? In particular Fiver and Hazel?

I don’t know whether there was an inspiration. The names just occurred to me without any trouble.

[TinaMumsnet]

Richard Adams has responded with his answers, we'll be posting them on this thread shortly. We've also pm'd the three lucky winners so check your inbox to see if you've won.

[AwfulCuntForTheButter]

'My heart has joined the Thousand, because my friend stopped running today'.

I read this out at my dear cousin's funeral - he took his own life.

Thank you, Richard, for giving us things to say when we're so lost that the words that should come readily, don't.

[TinaMumsnet]

Thanks for everyone who posted questions and comments to Richard Adams. We're sending over the questions now, and will post his answers as soon as he responds. Winners of the signed copies will be announced soon!

[hebihebi]

Watership Down is my favourite book of all time and I love the society that they aspired to build. I have read it many times over. My favourite line is when Bigwig says that his Chief Rabbit told him to stay and defend this run. It always brings tears to my eyes.

But I'm surprised it's considered a children's book. Surely that can't be correct? Do you consider it a children's book?

I have added Shardik to my reading list. Thank you!

[WinifredBanks]

Dear Richard,

The Girl In A Swing has been one of my favourite books for the last 3 decades now, having been re-read on numerous occasions.

Would you be able to you tell me whether you think of the adult Alan as physically unprepossessing ("pig face"), or whether he is actually perfectly pleasant-looking, given that he is able to attract both Barbara and the beautiful Karin?

Also, I realise that it was clearly the child's toy, but can you tell me anything I might have missed about the significance of the stuffed tortoise?

I also think Watership Down is splendid, but can never thank you enough for having written The Girl In A Swing.