My Name Is Leon cover art

My Name Is Leon

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

My Name Is Leon

By: Kit de Waal
Narrated by: Lenny Henry
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A TIMES and INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE IRISH NOVEL PRIZE

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD & THE DESMOND ELLIOT PRIZE

Soon to be a major BBC film starring Sir Lenny Henry, Malachi Kirby, Monica Dolan, Olivia Williams and Christopher Eccleston.


It's 1981, a year of riots and royal weddings. The Dukes of Hazzard is on TV. Curly Wurlys are in the shops. And trying to find a place in it all is nine-year-old Leon. He and his little brother Jake have gone to live with Maureen. They've lost one home, but have they found another?

Maureen feeds and looks after them. She has wild red hair and mutters swearwords under her breath when she thinks they can't hear. She claims everything will be okay. But will they ever see their mother again? Who are the couple who secretly visit Jake? Between the street violence and the street parties, Leon must find a way to reunite his family . . .

'Startlingly funny. Balances the gritty with the feel good' Observer

'Vivid and endearing - a very powerful book' Emma Healey, bestselling author of Elizabeth is Missing

'Authentic and beautiful, urgent and honest, this novel makes room in your heart' Chris Cleave, bestselling author of The Other Hand


© Kit de Waal 2016 (P) Penguin Audio 2016

20th Century Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking Tear-jerking

Listeners also enjoyed...

Without Warning and Only Sometimes cover art
The Wacky Man cover art
Rockoholic cover art
The Negligents cover art
The Return of Norah Wells cover art
Just One More Day cover art
Impossible To Forget cover art
Two for Three Farthings cover art
Pigeon cover art

Critic reviews

Tender and heart-breaking (Rachel Joyce, bestselling author of 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry')
A beautiful story told with compassion, urgency and wit (Stephen Kelman, author of the Booker-shortlisted 'Pigeon English')
Vivid and endearing - a very powerful book (Emma Healey, bestselling author of 'Elizabeth is Missing')
Leon is pure goodwill in a wicked world, and he won't leave you when you put this unique book down. Authentic and beautiful, urgent and honest, this novel does what only the best do: it quietly makes room in your heart. At the end of the story I couldn't bear to close the book on Leon. I felt I was abandoning him. I wanted to talk about it straight away with someone else who'd read it, and I know a great many readers will feel the same. (Chris Cleave, bestselling author of 'The Other Hand')
Beautiful and heartbreaking - I cried buckets of tears for Leon and his family (Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of 'The Last Act of Love')
A compelling story... Kit de Waal is to be congratulated (Jane Shemilt, bestselling author of 'Daughter')
Read it and weep
All stars
Most relevant
an interesting story well written from the child's perspective. very well narrated by Lenny Henry.

excellent narration

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

This book has really surprised me at just how I couldn't stop listening.
I remember the riots and Princess Diana getting married and all that. And it was true portrayal.
What was special was the relationships in the book, between Leon and all around him. But the way those characters were with each other. And I was gripped, by the last bit I was totally gripped.
Thoroughly recommend it. And Lenny of course was the most fantastic reader.
Sorry I've finished it.

Brilliant

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

Narration - perfect
Story - powerful, empathetic, real
Characters - completely human with flaws and faults plus so much love, empathy and humanity

Just wonderful

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

Brilliant book brilliantly read by Lenny Henry. I can't recommend it enough. The story is so beautiful and sad and I love Leon and Maureen and Sylvia.

The best audio book I've listened to this year.

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

My Name is Leon is a beautiful story that's wonderfully performed by Lenny Henry. Highly recommend!

Wonderful

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

See more reviews