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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
Narrated by: Charlotte Worthing, Florence Howard
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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 Village Heartfelt Grief Fiction Greek Mythology Ancient Greece
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Critic reviews

A triumphant first novel . . . This bold debut about a woman finding healing after a late miscarriage is written with utter conviction . . . highly accomplished, calmly devastating and eerily moving
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')
A vivid and mesmerisingly powerful debut . . . Goldreich’s spare, beautiful prose captures the essence of both women’s struggle to grapple not only with the pain of loss but the ever-yawning rift it has opened between them
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
Bruisingly poignant and quietly uneasy, this is a story of loss and isolation that will stay with you long after reading
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')
Gorgeously tender with beautiful and poetic prose . . . An intense and haunting read but one that felt deeply necessary
A truly heartbreaking account of grief, love, depression and resilience
All stars
Most relevant
A devastating and poetic look at loss and its consequence on human relationships. Frequently had me tearing up and feeling for both characters. This book will stay with me for a long time!

Beautiful & heartbreaking

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