In a world increasingly divorced from nature, Chloe Dalton’s debut memoir Raising Hare arrives as a gentle yet powerful reminder of what we’ve lost—and what we might still reclaim. This extraordinary chronicle of an unexpected interspecies bond unfolds against the backdrop of pandemic lockdown in the English countryside, where Dalton, a former political speechwriter and advisor accustomed to the frenetic pace of London life, finds herself suddenly immersed in a different rhythm altogether.
What begins as a chance encounter with a vulnerable newborn leveret (baby hare) develops into a profound two-year relationship that defies conventional wisdom about wild animals and transforms Dalton’s understanding of herself and the natural world. The result is a book that transcends the typical nature memoir, offering readers not just an intimate portrait of an enigmatic creature but a meditation on freedom, coexistence, and what it means to truly see the world around us.
An Unconventional Love Story
Dalton’s narrative begins with hesitation and uncertainty. Finding the leveret exposed on a track near her rural home, she is torn between intervention and allowing nature to take its course. When she ultimately decides to bring the vulnerable creature home, she’s warned by a local conservationist that hares cannot be domesticated and rarely survive in captivity. “You have to accept that it will probably die of hunger, or shock,” he tells her bluntly.
What follows defies these pessimistic predictions. Through trial and error, guided by historical accounts (including the writings of 18th-century poet William Cowper, who kept hares himself) and modern resources, Dalton develops an approach based on maximum freedom rather than confinement. This becomes the foundation of their unusual relationship—one where the hare is never truly “kept” but chooses to return day after day, even after it grows independent enough to leap the garden wall and explore the wider world.
The book’s strength lies in Dalton’s meticulous, almost reverential observation of the hare’s behavior. She describes with lyrical precision how the leveret grows, from its earliest wobbly steps to its mature ability to race at astonishing speeds. We witness it create “forms” (small depressions in the ground where hares rest), learn to forage, groom itself with fastidious care, and eventually raise several litters of its own leverets—some even born within Dalton’s study.
Beyond Nature Writing: A Cultural Exploration
Raising Hare elevates itself above standard wildlife accounts through its rich exploration of cultural and historical contexts. Dalton weaves in fascinating folklore about hares’ associations with witchcraft, their ambiguous symbolism in various traditions (alternately representing fertility, madness, wisdom, or cowardice), and their prominence in art and literature throughout the centuries.
This cultural excavation reveals why hares have long held such a mysterious place in human imagination—their nocturnal habits, extraordinary speed, and ability to seemingly vanish into the landscape have made them creatures of legend. Dalton writes:
“The mythology and lore around hares was puzzling to me since it appeared to divide into extremes, with the hare a signifier of virtue, renewal and self-sacrifice on the one hand, and a witches’ familiar and harbinger of death, revenge or misfortune on the other.”
These sections contribute valuable depth to the narrative, helping readers understand why the author’s experience feels both ancient and novel—she is participating in a relationship humans have attempted for millennia, yet one that remains elusive and rare.
A Transformative Experience
The most compelling aspect of Raising Hare is Dalton’s own transformation. A self-described political operative formerly driven by adrenaline and constant motion, she finds herself slowing down, becoming attuned to natural rhythms, and questioning her previous priorities. The hare becomes both catalyst and companion in this evolution.
As Dalton adjusts her routine to accommodate the hare’s habits, walking gently through her own home to avoid disturbing its rest, she develops a new sensibility toward the world around her. This reflective quality gives the memoir its emotional resonance. Dalton’s relationship with the hare changes how she perceives not just wildlife but her own life choices, leading to a reevaluation of what constitutes a meaningful existence.
Environmental Awakening
Raising Hare also serves as a subtle environmental manifesto. Through her growing knowledge of the hare’s needs and behaviors, Dalton becomes acutely aware of human impacts on wildlife habitats. She witnesses the devastating effects of modern agricultural machinery on leverets hiding in fields and begins to understand how seemingly small changes in land management can have outsized consequences for creatures like hares.
A particularly moving sequence describes Dalton’s horror upon finding hare casualties after a potato harvest, prompting her to question whether technological efficiency must always come at such a cost to wildlife. These moments avoid heavy-handed preaching, instead inviting readers to reconsider our collective relationship with the land and its inhabitants.
Stylistic Successes and Occasional Missteps
Dalton’s prose is largely a strength—precise, evocative, and capable of rendering minute observations with clarity. Her background as a speechwriter is evident in carefully constructed passages that balance informative content with emotional resonance. When describing the hare’s movements or the seasonal changes in the landscape, her writing achieves a luminous quality that makes these scenes leap from the page.
However, at times the book could benefit from more editorial restraint. Certain reflections about transformation and connection become repetitive, especially in the final chapters. The author sometimes overstates insights that would be more powerful if left implicit. Additionally, while the research underpinning the natural history sections is clearly extensive, occasional passages feel didactic rather than integrated into the narrative flow.
These are minor quibbles in what is otherwise an accomplished debut. Most readers will likely forgive such moments given the uniqueness of the experience being chronicled and the generally high quality of the writing.
Between Scientific Observation and Emotional Connection
One of the tensions running throughout Raising Hare is Dalton’s desire to avoid anthropomorphizing her subject while still conveying the evident bond between them. She largely navigates this challenge successfully, maintaining scientific accuracy while acknowledging the emotional dimensions of their relationship.
The author is careful to describe the hare’s behaviors objectively, referencing scientific literature about European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) while still conveying the wonder of their interactions. She writes:
“I have been at pains to avoid anthropomorphising the hare. I have not named her, I do not treat her as a pet, and I seldom touch her. The terms of our relationship are set by her. She comes when she wishes and is never compelled to stay.”
This approach strikes a thoughtful balance, avoiding both cold detachment and sentimental projection. Dalton allows the hare to remain fundamentally wild and mysterious while still documenting their remarkable connection.
The Inevitable Fragility
Perhaps the most poignant aspect of Raising Hare is its underlying awareness of impermanence. Throughout the narrative, Dalton acknowledges that wild hares rarely live beyond three or four years, and her companion faces myriad threats—from predators to agricultural machinery to simple bad luck. Each time the hare leaves, she knows it might never return.
This awareness gives the story its bittersweet quality. Rather than attempting to protect the hare by confining it, Dalton embraces the risk inherent in freedom:
“I watched it stand on its hind legs and engage both front paws to rain plums out of a tree in the garden, the drumming it had practised in its early days being put to good use…
To domesticate is to alter the nature of an animal in order to fit it into our way of life as humans. For innately wild animals such as the hare, a better way is to coexist.”
Final Assessment
Raising Hare deserves its place among contemporary nature classics like Helen Macdonald’s H is for Hawk or Charles Foster’s Being a Beast, though it carves out its own unique territory through its focus on coexistence rather than possession or imitation. In chronicling this remarkable interspecies relationship, Dalton offers readers a glimpse of a different way of relating to wildlife—one based on respect, patience, and acceptance of wildness on its own terms.
The book is not without flaws. Some passages would benefit from tighter editing, and occasionally the author’s reflections become overly philosophical when simplicity might better serve the material. There are also moments when the narrative rhythm slows, particularly during detailed explorations of hare biology or folklore that, while interesting, temporarily interrupt the emotional flow of the story.
Nevertheless, Raising Hare succeeds brilliantly in its primary aims: to document an extraordinary relationship, to deepen our understanding of a misunderstood creature, and to invite reflection on our own place within the natural world. In an era of ecological crisis and increasing disconnection from nature, Dalton’s memoir offers something rare and valuable—a vision of how humans might live alongside wildlife with greater attentiveness and humility.
For readers seeking a thoughtful exploration of human-animal relationships or those simply drawn to beautifully observed accounts of the natural world, Raising Hare provides an unforgettable reading experience. It reminds us that sometimes the most profound connections come when we least expect them, and that true coexistence requires us to loosen our grip on control and embrace the mysterious autonomy of wild beings.
