Miss Benson's Beetle
| Modern Age |
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 Miss Benson's Beetle
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From the bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry comes an uplifting, irresistible novel about two women on a life-changing adventure, where they must risk everything, break all the rules, and discover their best selves—together.
She’s going too far to go it alone.
It is 1950. London is still reeling from World War II, and Margery Benson, a schoolteacher and spinster, is trying to get through life, surviving on scraps. One day, she reaches her breaking point, abandoning her job and small existence to set out on an expedition to the other side of the world in search of her childhood obsession: an insect that may or may not exist—the golden beetle of New Caledonia. When she advertises for an assistant to accompany her, the woman she ends up with is the last person she had in mind. Fun-loving Enid Pretty in her tight-fitting pink suit and pom-pom sandals seems to attract trouble wherever she goes. But together these two British women find themselves drawn into a cross-ocean adventure that exceeds all expectations and delivers something neither of them expected to find: the transformative power of friendship.
Emily's Review
This story was everything I could hope for in a historical fiction novel.
Margery Benson is a middle-aged woman who has just realized that she gave up on pursuing her dream. So she throws a wild plan into motion and leaves the depressing 1950s post-WW2 UK to travel to the other side of the world in search of a mythical golden beetle.
But she can't go alone. So she set out to hire an assistant, yet the only person who could commit was Enid Pretty. And Enid is her absolute last choice. Her polar opposite - a beautiful, well-dressed, chatty woman. But there is more to Enid than meets the eye.
The story of these two women and the mishaps and mayhem they get into and the friendship they develop was just beautiful. The writing was excellent - I found myself smiling and giggling, constantly highlighting lines that spoke to me. But it isn't just a silly romp. The author gave these women depth and made them fully realized humans.
If you enjoy historical fiction with a side of science and a lot of great female empowerment and beautiful friendship, then you should pick up this novel.
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