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The Leveret
- Author
- Anna Goldreich
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date
- 18 June 2026
- Run Time
- 4 hours 4 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
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
Critics Review
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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
Guardian
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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'
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Goldreich's novel tracks a careful line through ideas of delusion, love and the nastily isolating nature of baby loss with precise and piercing lyricism
Daily Mail
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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
Marie Claire
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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
Sunday Times Style
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Hugely intense and beautifully unsettling - a searing, intimate novel about grief’s wildness — I couldn’t look away
Orla Mackey, author of 'Mouthing'
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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'
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Bruisingly poignant and quietly uneasy, this is a story of loss and isolation that will stay with you long after reading
Cold Magazine
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A haunting and heartbreaking exploration of baby loss within a queer relationship, delicately exploring how a couple might react differently following the loss of a child depening on who carried the baby
Stylist, 'Best Debuts 2026'
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A compelling read . . . Where Anna Goldreich scores is in her visceral treatment of grief, which really hits home. And the way she draws the relationship between Clare and Phoebe is imbued with a real truth
Crack Magazine
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Details
- Author
- Anna Goldreich
- Narrator
- Charlotte Worthing, Florence Howard
- Duration
- 4 hours 4 minutes
- Release Date
- 18 June 2026
- ISBN
- 9781405989176
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Genre
- Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss, Rabbits and rodents as pets
Synopsis
ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR ACCORDING TO SUNDAY TIMES STYLE AND GLAMOURA 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 JohnsonMoving 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
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