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‘Imagine holding a baby hare and bottle feeding it. Imagine it living under your roof, drumming on your duvet to attract your attention. Imagine the adult hare, over two years later, sleeping in the house by day, running freely in the fields by night and raising leverets of its own in your garden. This happened to me.’  

Raising Hare tells the story of the unusual experience of raising a leveret to adulthood and beyond. Drawing from the extraordinary opportunity of observing a hare at close quarters in a relationship of trust - as it comes and goes freely from the wild - it is an appeal for better understanding, appreciation and protection for hares wherever they are found. Featuring illustrations by. Denise Nestor. Cover Design by Gill Healey Audiobook read by Louise Brealey

ILLUSTRATOR: DENISE NESTOR | DESIGN: GILL HEELEY
AUDIOBOOK READ BY: LOUISE BREALEY

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RAISING HARE

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

PUBLISHED 26 SEPTEMBER 2024 | PUBLISHER: CANONGATE

Sprayed edge special editions of Raising Hare with drawings by Denise Nestor and design by Gill Heeley are available for Independent Bookshops to order

‘A glorious book – for its warmth, its precision, its joy. It’s not dreamy or romantic about the natural world – it’s something far better than that’

KATHERINE RUNDELL

‘More than a wildlife memoir, it’s a philosophical masterpiece ruminating on our place as human beings in nature.’

CLARE BALDING

‘Raising Hare is an astounding achievement. Not since I read Salar the Salmon by Henry Williamson have I witnessed such insight into a creature of the wild. This is a great and important tale for our times, for all of us, in the same league as Ted Hughes, Alice Oswald, Thomas Hardy and indeed Henry Williamson himself. I am so pleased Chloe Dalton told us about raising hare. I will not forget it and nor will anyone who reads it’

MICHAEL MORPURGO

‘Written with tenderness and lyricism from someone who has taken the time to reconnect to nature and the wild within. A beautiful book.’

ANGELINA JOLIE

‘This book is exceptional. It made me smile out loud, such a magical tale of a world turned upside down by a fragile wild thing – a leveret lost, a life found. A simply wonderful story, profoundly beautiful’

CHRIS PACKHAM

‘A beautiful book that makes you think profoundly about how we so often tune out the natural world around us. Chloe Dalton is a tender, curious, wise, mind-expanding guide, connecting readers with the wild we humans once knew so well. I will be recommending this to everyone’

MATT HAIG

 ‘A captivating and uplifting story about a chance encounter that proved utterly transformative. Beautifully written, touching and thought-provoking. It’s stayed with me weeks after finishing the final sentence’

CATHY NEWMAN

‘Utterly bewitched by this marvel of nature writing by Chloe Dalton with glorious illustrations by Denise Nestor’

CAROLINE SANDERSON

‘A moving, magical blend of memoir and nature writing . . . beautifully written, with a luminous, fairytale quality’

JOHN O’CONNELL

NetGalley Reviews

  • ‘I absolutely loved this book. It was so unexpected. What a treat to spend time with a hare and her family. Reconnecting with nature, opening our eyes . . . Beautifully written and so much historical research.’

  • ‘A deeply spiritual, philosophical book, as well as a hugely informative one. This for sure is a book which I will be recommending – and buying – for friends.’

  • I read this book while not feeling too good, a friend died, I was ill, the weather depressing and came out feeling so much better. The strength of this book is its truthful simplicity, of trying ones best to help when not really knowing what to do. A beautiful metaphor for life and nature. A hug of a book.'

  • ‘A deeper meditation on how wildness and civilisation overlap and the fact that we can meet the wild in the grey spaces in between. Lovely.’

  • ‘Utterly enchanting. . . I was simply spellbound by this story. . . I read into the early hours . . . I didn’t want to leave the incredibly gentle world, created by two species who aren’t supposed to share their space. This story is beautiful, captivating and completely melted my heart. I would say, thank you to the author, for sharing your story with us. This is definitely well worth reading.’

  • ‘This is a beautifully written book which held me captive. . . The writing is lovely, calm and without fuss. I felt better for reading the book.’

  • ‘I loved this book. Chloe Dalton has written a wonderful story about saving a tiny leveret and how they fitted into each others lives. I enjoyed the writing style and found the whole book evocotive and quite moving. What a wonderful experience.’

  • ‘What a panacea for slowing down the frantic pace we are all surviving at and just taking the time to look around us. I just loved this book, it is written as if you are in the room with Hare, so beautifully descriptive. I already have ordered the hardback when it becomes available, I cannot recommend it highly enough.’

  • ‘Over the years, there have been some classic autobiographical books that have celebrated the human connection with the natural world - in particular with different animals. Classics that spring to mind include Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell; H for Hawk for Helen Mac Donald and even My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. Raising Hare deserves to join this illustrious group.’

  • ‘Ultimately this is one of the best books I have read in many years. There is a simplicity here which appeals. I also found it a very tranquil read (though not all the time!) It is powerful, beautiful and will speak deeply to some of us. I'm grateful to Chloe for this book.’

NetGalley: Raising Hare

Waterstones Reviews

Waterstones: Raising hare

Chloe Dalton’s experience with a hare was an unusual one, and she went to all lengths required to ensure that the hare remained a wild animal. She would caution strongly against any attempt to keep a hare as a pet, and recommends following the RSPCA advice on hares and rabbits in the wild which can be found in the button below