Miss Benson's Beetle

This isn’t a book about middle age as much as it is a book about a middle-aged woman. Margery Benson, schoolteacher and spinster, has been overlooked and overworked. She’s ready for an adventure and to find the beetle she’s been obsessed with since childhood.

Margery doesn’t go on this adventure alone, and the friendship between Margery and the younger, flashier Enid Pretty is the real heart of this novel. Adventure, friendship, women finding their strength: it’s exactly what I want from a book.

This was one of the most unusual books I’ve read, about two women after the war in England who embark on an adventure to find an elusive golden beetle. The women are nothing alike, are thrown together by accident, don’t even like each other in the beginning, but become the very best of friends.

One is running from something, and one has nothing to run from. Both characters are so believable, even though they are incredibly unique, and their blossoming friendship is lovely to watch. The story is funny and sad and heartwarming and heartbreaking and like nothing you’ve read… show more.

Reading should be fun, and this is fun! Margery Benson is a woman after my own heart. She’s impulsive, stubborn, and independent.

I cheered her on as she gave up her frustrating job and boring life in England to go on an expedition to the other side of the world in search of a beetle, which may or may not be a myth. Along with her lively assistant, Enid Pretty, Miss Benson encounters some hair-raising challenges that compel her to break rules and discover a new self.

Miss Benson’s Beetle is a rollicking adventure story, which explores what it is… show more.

Not all coming-of-age novels involve adultescents. Sometimes grownups have to grow up. Such is the case with Margery Benson—English spinster, frumpy teacher, and boot-thieving fugitive—who reluctantly hires Enid Pretty, Margery’s polar opposite in looks and personality, to be her expedition assistant. The quest: the golden beetle of New Caledonia. An unlikely friendship blossoms as the two women travel from London halfway around the world in pursuit of a bug that may or may not exist, all the while being shadowed by a malaria-deranged former World War II prisoner-of-war. A female buddy book set in the 1950s, Miss Benson’s Beetle is… show more.

Margery Benson is a spinster and teacher-turned adventurer. She escapes her humdrum life to pursue a passionate belief in something that takes her to the other side of the world. This book spoke to me because it’s rooted in the bravery of taking that leap of faith that could make or break you. I’ve done that twice in my life, switching careers and continents to achieve my dreams, and both times, it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

Set in 1950, Margery Benson and her quirky assistant embark on a quest to find a beetle that may not even exist. This book not only keeps you reading to enjoy each adventure they encounter, it also explores a deep friendship that evolves between two women with completely different personalities. Personally, I love any book where ordinary people with ordinary problems take me on an adventure.  

In Rachel Joyce’s Miss Benson’s Beetle we see, very clearly, how hazy half-formed memories and closely guarded family secrets can overshadow and drive a life. Surprisingly, prim, plain Margery Benson abruptly leaves her teaching position to set out on an expedition to New Caledonia as an amateur entomologist in search of a rare or possibly fictional golden beetle. With no training or practical experience Miss Benson hires an equally unqualified assistant. Together they head into this uncharted territory, meeting every imaginable obstacle. Through struggle and loss Miss Benson eventually unravels the mystery surrounding her beloved father’s death and reconciles this… show more.