THE DAY GONE BY: An Autobiography - Softcover

ADAMS, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140147659 ISBN 13: 9780140147650

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991

Synopsis

The memoirs of Richard Adams, the author of "Watership Down", recreate his childhood in Berkshire during the mid-1920s. They cover his family, his schooldays at Bradfield College and his time spent at Oxford before he was called up in July 1940. They depict a society that disappeared after the war. Richard Adams' other books include "Shardik", "Nature Through the Seasons", "The Tyger Voyage", "The Plague Dogs", "A Nature Diary" and "Voyage Through the Antarctic".

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

In an apparently artless, effortless fashion, Adams ( Watership Down ) guides readers on a journey back to his early years in this wonderfully detailed memoir. Born in 1920, the author grew up in pastoral England, blessed in his boyhood with a loving, stable family and the surrounding natural world which he roamed freely, usually with his father, before he was sent to boarding school. That was a vast, discomforting change from his tranquil home, but Adams adjusted, making friends, good marks and mischief. His education was interrupted by the outbreak of WW II, during which he served in virtually every theater in Europe and Asia. This affectionate evocation of "the day gone by" closes with the author home again in Newbury and meeting his future wife, Elizabeth. It's a safe bet that readers will clamor for a follow-up to the humorous, poignant and sometimes grim adventures of the early part of a singular life. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

Adams (author of Watership Down ) divides his life into an idyllic early childhood, his loss of innocence at boarding school after age eight, and his treasured years at Oxford. Those years ended abruptly with the onset of World War II, which hurled him into adulthood. Living in pastoral surroundings, Adams begins to appreciate nature in the first phase of his life under the guidance of his physician father. In boarding school he recognizes his talent for storytelling in late night whisperings. Taking place in post-Victorian England, this memoir comments on class distinctions and the effects of the rapidly changing society of the 20th century on a young man with a sensitive intelligence. Recommended for general collections.
-Janice Braun, Medical Historical Lib., Yale Univ.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0140147659
• ISBN 13: 9780140147650
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432