Richard Adams was born in 1920. In the mid-sixties he completed his first novel, "Watership Down, the story of which he originally told his children to while away time on a long car journey. His many other books include the novels "Shardik, The Plague Dogs, The Girl in a Swing, Maia and, "Traveller; his autobiography "The Day Gone By; and several books on the natural world. He and his wife, who have two daughters, live in the South of England.