Almost ready!
In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.
Log in Create accountLimited-time offer
Get two free audiobooks!
Nowās a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, weāll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.
Sign up todayGift audiobook credit bundles
You pick the number of credits, your recipient picks the audiobooks, and your local bookstore is supported by your purchase.
Start giftingWatership Down
This audiobook uses AI narration.
Weāre taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreBookseller recommendation
“I am quite judgmental about certain narrations and adaptations ā particularly, The Three Musketeers and Watership Down. Both of these require so much personality or the stories lose their sense of adventure; their humor; their excitement; their tension; and, especially, their character. This new narration of this classic book may be one of the greatest performances on an audiobook Iāve ever heard. The care with which former Doctor Who Peter Capaldi gives each rabbit its own distinct voice should get him an Audie award. Every rabbit is so distinct, youāll always know whoās speaking. If a rabbit is small and timid, you hear it in the little, quavering voice. If a rabbit is annoying, slow, and stupid, youāll know it. As for the source material, if youāve never read Watership Down, this is a fantastic way to consume it. This isnāt a story about a bunch of talking rabbits in little outfits, going about their workdays as rabbit lawyers and construction workers. This is about rabbits acting like rabbits in the normal rabbit world of fields and forests, streams and brambles ā and an occasional brush with the dangerous human world as well. These rabbits are on a dangerous mission with risks and new experiences. I only take issue with this book being categorized as a childrenās story. Sure, it was originally based on tales Richard Adams told you his daughters, but this book transcends age. This audiobook is fantastic and the best performance of Watership Down Iāve ever heard.”
— Keith • Bookie's
Bookseller recommendation
“This is a must-read for the summer. Set in south-central England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphized, possessing their own culture, language, proverbs, poetry, and mythology. Evoking epic themes, the novel follows the rabbits as they escape the destruction of their warren and seek a place to establish a new home, encountering perils and temptations along the way. Every time I finish this book I canāt help but feel like Iāve lost some very dear friends. ”
— Miranda • Underground Books
Bookseller recommendation
“This has long been one of my very favorite books, but I was unprepared for how perfectly suited Peter Capaldi would be as a narrator for this story. Every voice and character is distinct and brilliantly done, breathing new life and dimension into an already epic piece. I'm sorry to have finished so soon one what was possibly my favorite audiobook this year! ”
— Jane • Rediscovered Books
One of the most beloved novels of our time, Watership Down is an epic journey, a stirring tale of adventure, courage, and survival.
Fiver could sense danger. Something terrible was going to happen to the warren; he felt sure of it. They had to leave immediately. So begins a long and perilous journey of survival for a small band of rabbits.
As the rabbits skirt danger at every turn, we become acquainted with the band, its humorous characters, and its compelling culture, complete with its own folk history and mythos. Fiverās vision finally leads them to Watership Down, an upland meadow. But here they face their most difficult challenges of all.
A stirring epic of courage and survival against the odds, Watership Down has become a beloved classic for all ages. Both an exciting adventure story and an involving allegory about freedom, ethics, and human nature, it has delighted generations with its unique and charming world, winning many awards and being adapted to film, television, and theater.
Richard Adams (1920ā2016) wrote many novels and short stories, including Watership Down and Shardik. Watership Down hit the top of theĀ New York TimesĀ bestseller list, where it stayed for eight months, eventually becoming Penguin Booksā all-time bestseller. He grew up in Berkshire, England, the son of a country doctor. After an education at Oxford, he spent six years in the army and then went into the civil service. The success of Watership Down allowed him to leave that work and write full time.
Peter Capaldi is a Scottish actor, director, and screenwriter. He has won two BAFTAs, two British Comedy Awards, an Oscar for directing the live-action short film Franz Kafkaās Itās a Wonderful Life, and is the Twelfth Doctor of the long-running BBC program Dr. Who. Capaldi lives in London with his wife and daughter.
Reviews
āCapaldi delivers a riveting version of this wonderful classic. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.ā
āVeteran character actor Peter Capaldi is the perfect choice to narrateā¦[and] recaptures the intimacy of being read to as a childā¦This is pure audiobook magic for any age.ā
āSpellbindingā¦A taut tale of suspense, hot pursuit, and derring-do.ā
āIf there is no place for Watership Down in childrenās bookshops, then childrenās literature is dead.ā
āA classicā¦A great book.ā
āMarvelousā¦A powerful new vision of the great chain of being.ā
Expand reviews