An extract from A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre, translated by Mark Hutchinson
The story of an intense friendship between the narrator and his close childhood friend, Fanny, who suffers from profound psychological disorders
The story of an intense friendship between the narrator and his close childhood friend, Fanny, who suffers from profound psychological disorders
Hailed in Le Point as a ‘masterpiece of simplicity, emotion and elegance’, A Leopard-Skin Hat may be Anne Serre’s most moving novel yet.
A series of short scenes paints the portrait of a strong-willed and tormented young woman battling many demons, and of the narrator’s loving and anguished attachment to her. Serre poignantly depicts the bewildering back and forth between hope and despair involved in such a relationship, while playfully calling into question the very form of the novel.
Written in the aftermath of the death of the author’s little sister, A Leopard-Skin Hat is both the celebration of a tragically foreshortened life and a valedictory farewell, written in Anne Serre’s signature style.
Anne Serre
About the Author
Born in Bordeaux, Anne Serre is the author of 17 works of fiction
Mark Hutchinson
About the Translator
Mark Hutchinson was born in London and lives in ParisA deeply romantic yet platonic love story between the narrator and his complicated childhood friend
— The 2025 judges on A Leopard-Skin Hat
What the judges said
Anne Serre’s short novel is the deeply romantic telling of a platonic love story between the narrator and his complicated childhood friend, Fanny; a story so beautifully realised – and translated so sensitively by Mark Hutchinson – that the pair become part of the life of the reader. A perfectly balanced book, slender in size but bearing significant weight all the way through, A Leopard-Skin Hat is testament to the ways in which we continue to hold the people we love in our memories, with respect and dignity, after they die.
