Available Formats
Hardback, Large Print Edition
Published: 1st April 2025
Hardback, Main
Published: 3rd December 2024
Paperback, Main
Published: 2nd September 2025
Raising Hare: The heart-warming true story of an unlikely friendship
By (Author) Chloe Dalton
Canongate Books
Canongate Books
2nd September 2025
29th May 2025
Main
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Animals and society
Wildlife: mammals: general interest
The countryside, country life: general interest
599.3240941
Short-listed for Waterstones Book of the Year 2024 (UK)
Paperback
336
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 20mm
232g
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2025
SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024
SHORTLISTED FOR THE HATCHARDS AND BIOGRAPHERS' CLUB FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE
A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE HAY FESTIVAL, SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, SPECTATOR AND iNEWS
'A beautiful book' - ANGELINA JOLIE
'I will be recommending this to everyone' - MATT HAIG
'Quietly profound, beautifully written, Hare is now lodged in my heart' - TRACY CHEVALIER
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Imagine you could hold a baby hare and bottle-feed it. Imagine that it lived under your roof and lolloped around your bedroom at night, drumming on the duvet cover when it wanted your attention. Imagine that, over two years later, it still ran in from the fields when you called it and snoozed in your house for hours on end. This happened to me.
When Chloe, a city-dwelling professional with a high-pressure job, finds a newly born hare, endangered, alone and no bigger than her palm, she is compelled to give it a chance at survival - despite being the least likely caregiver to this wild animal.
Raising Hare is the story of their journey together. It chronicles an extraordinary relationship between human and animal, rekindling our sense of awe towards nature and wildlife. Their improbable bond of trust reminds us that the most remarkable experiences, inspiring the most hope, often arise when we least expect them.
This edition includes a moving new chapter
A great and important tale for our times -- MICHAEL MORPURGO
This is more than a wildlife memoir, it's a philosophical masterpiece -- CLARE BALDING
This book is exceptional. A simply wonderful story, profoundly beautiful -- CHRIS PACKHAM
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
A fascinating meditation on nature, friendship, renewal and love [ . . . ] awakening in us a sense of wonder. It helps us pay attention to the world around us, and, in doing so, rediscover ourselves -- ELIF SHAFAK
This is a book of sheer joy and goodness in our times often marked by dark and troubling events. It transports you to a world of long-lost innocence and makes you want to hug the world * * Financial Times, 'Best Books of 2024' * *
A nourishing nature memoir at its finest * * Sunday Times, 'Books of the Year' * *
Raising Hare is a tale of hope, channelled through the enduring and improbable bond between a human and a wild animal. It's a love letter to the natural world * * The Times * *
In steady, elegant, whimsy-free prose, Dalton documents minute observations of her daily coexistence with the leveret. This is indeed a remarkable debut * * Spectator * *
This is the most gorgeous piece of nature writing published this year, and one that ought to become a classic of the genre. [It is] the soul-soothing read we all need right now * * iNews * *
Chloe Dalton is a writer, political adviser and foreign policy specialist. She spent over a decade working in the UK Parliament and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and has advised, and written for and with, numerous prominent figures. She divides her time between London and her home in the English countryside. Raising Hare is her first book. It was selected as Hay Festival Book of the Year 2024, shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year and a Critics Best Books pick for The Times, Financial Times, Guardian, Spectator and iNews.
chloedalton.uk | @chloedaltonuk