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The Leveret
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The Leveret

By: Anna Goldreich
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A heartbreakingly gorgeous and lyrically haunting debut novel about grief in the aftermath of baby loss and the power of queer love – perfect for fans of Julia Armfield, Sophie Mackintosh and Daisy Johnson

Moving to the countryside is supposed to fix Clare and Phoebe’s relationship. A fresh start, a change of scenery, a chance to heal after the miscarriage of their baby girl.

Instead, Phoebe feels suffocated. Back in the rural community she ran from at seventeen and unable to face the partner she cannot help, she throws herself into work on the family farm. Clare is a stranger in the village, uninitiated and out of place. She spends her days drifting around the cottage, its walls groaning and shifting as she withdraws into a world inside her head.

One day, wandering through the forest nearby, Clare finds a leveret – her own little Isla. A surrogate to lick and love. A way to feel whole again.

But as Isla grows into an adult hare she becomes wild and unruly – a kicking, biting, scratching creature. With Clare’s grasp on reality growing ever more tenuous, Phoebe begins to question whether Isla is the cure for grief Clare is searching for as she desperately clings on to the woman she loves . . .

With this bruisingly tender love story, debut author Anna Goldreich has conjured a hazy dream of a novel about the fantasies we create as a refuge from grief. The Leveret is a heartbreakingly gorgeous and lyrically haunting hymn to queer love and the power to rebuild from the wreckage of a relationship.

© Anna Goldreich 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

 Family Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Small Town & Rural

Critic reviews

The Leveret is a mesmerising and haunting debut from a rare and singular talent. Anna Goldreich has written something so deeply stirring, heartbreaking and filled with ache, it transcends words. Turning the last pages, I was completely speechless. Anna's is a once in a generation talent (Lucy Rose, author of 'The Lamb')
Anna Goldreich writes with searing clarity and immense heart. This is a haunting novel full of rich imagery, distinct voice and so much imagination. Anna Goldreich is clearly a writer to keep an eye on (Jan Carson, author of 'The Raptures')
From the Norwich-based writer Anna Goldreich, The Leveret revolves around Clare and Phoebe, who believe that moving to the countryside will solve their marital woes and give their relationship a new ease of life, especially after the miscarriage of the daughter they were expecting . . . Tissues at the ready
A beautiful but very sad book about grief, love and healing (Róisín Lanigan, author of 'I Want To Go Home But I'm Already There')
Hugely intense and beautifully unsettling - a searing, intimate novel about grief’s wildness — I couldn’t look away (Orla Mackey, author of 'Mouthing')
A brilliantly written, brave debut. The Leveret is deeply affecting about the ferocity of care, and it bounds with all the pain and beauty that comes with that (Cynan Jones, author of 'The Dig')
A tender exploration of grief and the alienation felt after loss, The Leveret is a strikingly mature debut from Anna Goldreich. Clare and Phoebe's relationship to each other, the before and after of tragedy, is depicted with such sensitivity as is their relationship with Isla, leading to an incredibly touching, cathartic final scene (Joshua Jones, author of 'Local Fires')
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