The Lamb

THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

A gripping, sinister folktale set in contemporary Cumbria for fans of Sophie Mackintosh, Angela Carter, Daisy Johnson, Margaret Atwood and Julia Armfield

'A new generation of literary horror begins with Lucy Rose'
GENEVIEVE JAGGER

'Deliciously dark and shockingly bold. One of my favourite debuts in a long time'
KIRSTY LOGAN

'Superbly creepy . . . at heart it's about dysfunctional family dynamics, female rage and empowerment'
FINANCIAL TIMES

'An unforgettable, nightmarish tale. I ate it all up'
ANNA BOGUTSKAYA

A FOLK TALE. A HORROR STORY. A LOVE STORY. AN ENCHANTMENT.

Margot and Mama have lived by the forest since Margot can remember. When Margot isn't at school, they spend quiet days together in their cottage, waiting for strangers to knock on their door. Strays, Mama calls them. Mama loves the strays. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm. Then she satisfies her burning appetite by picking apart their bodies.

But Mama's want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a white-toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, little Margot must confront the shifting dynamics of her family, untangle her own desires and make a bid for freedom.

With this tender coming-of-age tale, debut novelist Lucy Rose explores how women swallow their anger, desire and animal instincts - and wrings the relationship between mother and daughter until blood drips from it.

'Stunning, shocking and surprising at each turn'
BENJAMIN MYERS

'A modern Grimm fairytale'
SUSAN BARKER

'Dark, poetic, gothic, folky and full of courage and beauty'
TIM DOWNIE

'Dear reader, I predict you will be as obsessed as me' 
MOLLY AITKEN

'Lucy Rose can certainly write . . . The Lamb grips all the way to an unexpected denouement'
GUARDIAN


Genre: Horror

"This is the book I've been waiting for. Dark, twisted and utterly enthralling, The Lamb is a novel I will never forget. Lucy Rose's prose gave me chills, perfectly capturing the horrors and beauties of girlhood. Dear reader, I predict you will be as obsessed as I am." - Molly Aitken

"The Lamb left me breathless. A beautiful, tender, and disturbing novel, exploring mother-daughter relationships in a hugely ambitious and thought-provoking way. I loved it." - Rachelle Atalla

"A modern Grimm fairytale. Heart-wrenching and sensuously lyrical, yet sinister, depraved, and stomach-churningly good." - Susan Barker

"Visceral and aching, The Lamb is a magnetic, monstrous tale of womanhood and desire. I devoured it, hungry for each and every word. Margot is going to haunt me forever." - Victoria Hawthorne

"Outstanding and disturbing and transformative. A new generation of literary horror begins with Lucy Rose. Brutal yet tender, The Lamb is a book that refuses to offer its reader the easy way out. A masterclass in suspense with an unflinching focus on intergenerational violence, The Lamb will leave you with a twisting feeling on the inside. Sensational. Read now, before everyone you know gets there first." - Genevieve Jagger

"Lyrical, poignant, unbearably tense, this is a dark folk horror that will linger long in the imagination. The observations of motherhood, girlhood, female friendships and rivalries, and the natural world are so beautifully wrought." - Naomi Kelsey

"If you think you might be too squeamish for a book about cannibals, think again. Lucy Rose will lure you in with beautiful prose and captivate you with this story about finding voice and agency, and what it is (and isn't) to love and be loved." - Kate Kemp

"Lucy Rose is not afraid, and this bold, complex, shock of a novel proves that. Deliciously drawn, this feral folktale speaks to the sinister nature of the mother wound on a visceral level. Literary horror at its peak." - Dawn Kurtagich

"Deliciously dark and shockingly bold - someone needs to make this into a film right now! Lucy Rose is one to watch. This is one of my favourite debuts in a long time." - Kirsty Logan

"Stunning, shocking and surprising at each turn - everything one would want from a novel, and so much more. Lucy Rose's fearful and fantastic imagination is a powerful weapon." - Benjamin Myers

"A dark, fearsome novel that sticks between your teeth. Rose writes about daughterhood with poetic clarity and tenderness." - Amy Twigg

"The Lamb will lure you in and devour you whole. Lucy Rose perfectly captures the toxic wilderness of motherhood and daughterhood in this poetic and electrifying debut." - Rose Wilding

"The Lamb is a gorgeous, lyrical, evocative, hunger-inducing, and deeply moving novel that I just gobbled up, reading it totally compulsively right to the end." - Nussaibah Younis