Tales from Watership Down
Encyclopedia
Tales from Watership Down is a collection of nineteen short stories by Richard Adams
, published in 1996 as a follow-up to Adams's highly successful 1972 novel about rabbit
s, Watership Down
. It consists of a number of short stories of rabbit mythology
, followed by several chapters featuring many of the characters introduced in the earlier book. Like its predecessor, Tales from Watership Down features epigraph
s at the beginning of each chapter and a Lapine
glossary.
Five new characters were introduced: Flyairth, a doe who threatens to undermine the stability of Watership Down; Sandwort, a disrespectful young buck who eventually changes his ways; Coltsfoot, a depressed buck whom Fiver befriends; Stonecrop, an escaped hutch rabbit; and Nyreem, an Efrafan doe with an injured leg. Although most of the characters remain static from Watership Down, Hyzenthlay, a doe, rises to the position of Co-Chief Rabbit with her mate, Hazel.
. A reviewer for The New York Times
wrote that while it was a "lighthearted companion piece" to Watership Down, it was "a little disjointed as a stand-alone volume." However, it was praised by another reviewer at Salon.com
, who wrote that "The pure, unfamiliar feelings evoked in "The Story of the Three Cows" and in the gory "The Hole in the Sky" — just two of the stories here — persist for quite a while after you've finished reading them."
The collection is now out of print in Britain, although it is still sold in some other countries such as the United States
.
Richard Adams
Richard Adams was a non-conforming English Presbyterian divine, known as author of sermons and other theological writings.-Life:...
, published in 1996 as a follow-up to Adams's highly successful 1972 novel about rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, Watership Down
Watership Down
Watership Down is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Although the animals in the story live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language , proverbs, poetry, and mythology...
. It consists of a number of short stories of rabbit mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
, followed by several chapters featuring many of the characters introduced in the earlier book. Like its predecessor, Tales from Watership Down features epigraph
Epigraph (literature)
In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document or component. The epigraph may serve as a preface, as a summary, as a counter-example, or to link the work to a wider literary canon, either to invite comparison or to enlist a conventional...
s at the beginning of each chapter and a Lapine
Lapine language
Lapine is a fictional language created by author Richard Adams for his 1972 novel Watership Down, where it is spoken by fictional rabbit characters. The fragments of language presented by Adams consist of a few dozen distinct words, and are chiefly used for the naming of rabbits, their mythological...
glossary.
Overview
Tales from Watership Down is in three parts: the first consists of five traditional tales of El-ahrairah and two more modern rabbit stories, the second contains four episodes recounting events that befell El-ahrairah and Rabscuttle on their return from visiting the Black Rabbit of Inlé, and the third contains eight chapters dealing with the Watership warren in the months following the events of the original book.Five new characters were introduced: Flyairth, a doe who threatens to undermine the stability of Watership Down; Sandwort, a disrespectful young buck who eventually changes his ways; Coltsfoot, a depressed buck whom Fiver befriends; Stonecrop, an escaped hutch rabbit; and Nyreem, an Efrafan doe with an injured leg. Although most of the characters remain static from Watership Down, Hyzenthlay, a doe, rises to the position of Co-Chief Rabbit with her mate, Hazel.
Literary significance and reception
Tales from Watership Down was generally rather poorly received by fans of Watership Down, many of whom had expected a longer and more conventional sequelSequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
. A reviewer for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote that while it was a "lighthearted companion piece" to Watership Down, it was "a little disjointed as a stand-alone volume." However, it was praised by another reviewer at Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, who wrote that "The pure, unfamiliar feelings evoked in "The Story of the Three Cows" and in the gory "The Hole in the Sky" — just two of the stories here — persist for quite a while after you've finished reading them."
The collection is now out of print in Britain, although it is still sold in some other countries such as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.