The Lamb

Synopsis

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.

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

Author

Lucy Rose is a bestselling writer and award-winning filmmaker. Her short fiction and personal essays have been published in the Observer, Dread Central, Mslexia and more. Lucy Rose was selected as a Forbes ’30 Under 30′ in 2025. Raised in Cumbria, she currently lives in Newcastle. @lucyrosecreates lucyrosecreative.co.uk