Watership Down Audiobook By Richard Adams cover art

Watership Down

Preview

Get this deal Try for $0.00
Offer ends January 21, 2025 at 11:59PM ET.
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Watership Down

By: Richard Adams
Narrated by: Peter Capaldi
Get this deal Try for $0.00

$14.95/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends January 21, 2025 11:59PM ET. Cancel anytime.

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.46

Buy for $19.46

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

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. Fiver’s 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.

©1972 Richard Adams (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Classics Coming of Age Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Essentials Fiction Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins Tie-in Fantasy Adventure Witty Funny Feel-Good Suspenseful

Featured Article: The top 100 classics of all time


Before we whipped out our old high school syllabi and dug deep into our libraries to start selecting contenders for this list, we first had to answer the question, "How do we define a classic?" The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might guess, though there’s a lot to be said for the old adage, "You know it when you see it" (or, in this case, hear it). Of course, most critically, each of our picks had to be fabulous in audio. So dust off your aspirational listening list—we have some amazing additions you don’t want to miss.

Editor's Pick

A classic in full form with colorful narration
"Watership Down is about a community of rabbits, but it’s far from kid-like. There are warring factions, oppression, and some terrifying moments in the woods. Recently re-recorded by Doctor Who actor Peter Capaldi, this edition is powerful and poignant. Capaldi has a storybook English accent that I found completely immersive, and he develops distinct voices for the many characters."
Melissa B., Audible Editor

What listeners say about Watership Down

Highly rated for:

Captivating Adventure Compelling Storyline Excellent Character Voices Imaginative World-building
Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4,385
  • 4 Stars
    546
  • 3 Stars
    159
  • 2 Stars
    47
  • 1 Stars
    30
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4,110
  • 4 Stars
    329
  • 3 Stars
    82
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    23
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,865
  • 4 Stars
    480
  • 3 Stars
    151
  • 2 Stars
    28
  • 1 Stars
    25

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Companion to Watership Down

My daughter was assigned Watership Down for summer reading. Since I never read the book, we read it together while listening to the brilliant Peter Capaldi. His narration enhances the wonderful story by Richard Adams. Despite being 500 pages long, the narration made the book a breeze to get through, especially for a 13 year old. Highly, highly recommended!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent narration and compelling voice acting

Watership Down is, in itself, a masterpiece. Peter Cappaldi’s performance in reading this story brought amazing depth and emotion to the story.

I was sad for it to end. It’s not too often that I find a story AND a narration that are equally compelling, and this reading was just that.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Someone please teach Capaldi how to read a book

It isn't the same as dramatic acting. I don't want to be listening to an audio book to go to sleep and be thrown out of my bed by a man yelling in a Scottish accent. He is very hard to listen to and lacking in subtlety. I really wish Audible had a different version as this is my favorite book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book great performance

I remember it being good, but I don’t remember it being this good. It is a great story and the voice talent adds to the experience with his performance.

I picked this up in the $5.00 sale this Summer as a ‘Meh, maybe I’ll get to it sometime’ purchase. I’m glad I did. I enjoyed it so much. I expect this to be a recording I return to in the future.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best Audible books ever.

This book sounded too childish for my taste, but I could not say no to an Audible performance by Peter Capaldi. I'm so glad I grabbed it. Not only is the narration fantastic beyond words, but the story is so touching and suspenseful that it was one of my favorite reads of the year. As an animal lover, all the characters felt so real that I really suffered when they were in trouble. In the foreword, the author explains how he had so much trouble finding a publisher because the novel talks about rabbits, which are considered childish, but was written as a grown-up story. And it is, the prose is beautiful and the animals so endearing and scary and resourceful that it makes for perfect reading for humans of all ages. As a bonus, Mr. Capaldi's performance as Kehaar the seagull was so funny he had me laughing out loud at the grocery store. Probably one of the best books ever written.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Epic and Amazing!

I caught the audiobook version of this on-sale recently. I've had this on my list for a while after seeing it referenced in various favorite book threads on reddit for the past year or so. This book was a welcome and refreshing change from the fantasy/rpg/scifi books that I have been reading of late. The narrator, Peter Capaldi, knocked it out of the park. It felt like the 12th Doctor from Doctor Who was telling me a story. The basic premise of this book sounds simple and childish: A handful of bunnies leave a doomed warren to found a new warren a few miles away. The actual journey of Fiver, Hazel, Bigwig, and the rest is epic in scale. This was a captivating tale, and I enjoyed every minute of it. This is now on both my reread list as well as my list of favorites.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Peter Capaldi is a magic narrator!

I love this reading of a much-loved classic. This time I understood that Richard Adams had used some of his knowledge of the military from World War II to write this story. gives it an added flavor in understanding the stratagems of the rabbits. I'll never look at a rabbit the same way again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good revisit

Read this several years ago and enjoyed it. Having it read by a good narrator added to the enjoyment of revisiting a great book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating for both children and adults!

This is a wonderfully engaging tale, and I was sad to see it end. If I had children I would read it to them.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An all-time classic

A perfectly realized adventure story, complete with its own language, mythology, and commentary on our own world.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!