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The Leveret

The beautiful and lyrically haunting novel about grief and queer love
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The Leveret

By: Anna Goldreich
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Summary

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR ACCORDING TO SUNDAY TIMES STYLE AND GLAMOUR

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.

'A mesmerizing and haunting debut from a once-in-a-generation talent’ Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb

‘Intense and beautifully unsettling – a searing, intimate novel about grief’s wildness. I couldn’t look away’ Orla Mackey

‘Brave and deeply affecting on the ferocity of care, and all the pain and beauty that comes with that’ Cynan Jones

© Anna Goldreich 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

 Family Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Small Town & Rural
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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')
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')
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 lease 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')
A tangled story of love and loss, confronting as it is hopeful. Anna Goldreich is one to watch (Amy Twigg, author of 'Spoilt Creatures')
The Leveret is a poetic testimony of queer care while also bearing witness to the devastation wreaked by loss. I found Goldreich’s prose just staggering – this is the kind of visceral, unflinching language that pulls the body close and asks us to feel every jagged contour of its pain. I was so moved by Clare and Phoebe’s relationship as they scrabble among the pieces of their shared life for a way back to one another. Goldreich brings these human rituals of grieving into contact with the harsh ambivalence of nature to craft a story that feels both mythic and intimate – something truly primal is at work in these pages (Rowe Irvin, author of 'Life Cycle of a Moth')
A story that enfolds you with messy, beautiful, painful love (Sophie Ward, author of 'Love and Other Thought Experiments')
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')
Addictive, poignant, and unlike anything I’ve read before, The Leveret is such an important novel. With its beautiful, overflowing depiction of loss and queer relationships, it was an honour to witness Clare and Phoebe’s love, the way they adapt to each other’s needs, attempting to connect through their loss. I’m so pleased it exists (Grace Murray, author of 'Blank Canvas')
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