Miss Margery Benson's girlhood dream was to travel to New Caledonia to discover a rare golden beetle whose existence has never been proven. In her late forties, Margery walks right out of her miserable teaching job in someone else's boots, knowing that no matter what happens, she must make that voyage and pursue that dream.

Twenty-something Enid Pretty is not Margery's first choice of traveling companions. Margery and Enid are misfits, and their quest seems impossible. As Margery and Enid push their endurance to its limits and their friendship grows, a disturbed P.O.W. named Mundic is tracking them down.

Miss Benson's Beetle is a rewarding postwar novel about women charting their own courses and making discoveries against all odds, in spite of their own trauma and the trauma of the men around them. Rachel Joyce's writing is powerful and confident, and these characters leap off the page. I was reminded of "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" as Margery and Enid, a generation apart, each rely on the wisdom and strength of the other to create their lives anew in a war-torn world.

For decades Margery Benson has just existed but one day something happens and she reacts in unexpected ways. She takes a pair of boots and decides to finally follow her dream, to search for a beetle that was only a legend in far off New Caledonia. For her expedition she needs an assistant and ends up with Enid Pretty. Will this mismatched pair be able to do the unthinkable, travel to the wilds of New Caledonia and find the elusive beetle? A story of friendship and finding yourself.

You know, this book just really was not my cup of tea. That is not to say that it was a bad book, it just did not capture my imagination. The plot was original, but again, just not my favorite book.

This is a charming and quirky laugh-out-loud buddy adventure featuring two women who couldn't be more different from each other. For fans of A Man Called Ove, The House in the Cerulean Sea, and the Flavia de Luce series. It was so much fun I could not put it down. I will be talking up this book to whoever I can get to listen!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced copy of this delightful book!

Be prepared to be entertained and delighted! I really knew nothing about this book, nor had I ever read anything else by the author, but the advanced reviews on it were so amazing that I was thrilled when I received a copy and I have to say, the reviews were spot on.

The book takes place in 1950 post-war England but begins with a life changing , traumatic event that happens to the main character, Margery Benson, when she is only 10 years old. This event, along with a love of beetles introduced by her beloved father, shapes and defines her personality and ensuing life. She abruptly quits her teaching job at age 47, and decides to go on the the adventure of a life time in quest of the elusive, possibly mythical, golden beetle of New Caledonia that her father had told her tales about when she was a young girl. She advertises for an assistant and we are introduced to Enid Pretty who is the exact opposite of what Margery had in mind. These two women couldn’t be more opposite each other in appearance and personality yet they form a bond and realize they can learn something from each other. The adventures they have in their travel to New Caledonia and their ensuing hunt for the golden beetle will leave you laughing, crying, and all out cheering them on.

I absolutely loved this book - it hooked me from the very first page and kept my interest throughout! The writing is superb! It’s wonderfully descriptive and the characters are well developed. I actually put off finishing it for a little bit because I did not want the story to end!

Margery is only a child in the early 1900s when her father introduces her to the New Caledonia Golden Beetle, a rare species found in a book of weird and wonderful nature around the world. A curious young girl, Margery becomes immersed in the study of beetles.
But tragedy strikes her word when her four brothers are killed at war and her father, so distraught, kills himself.
This is the prologue if you will to the story of Margery, who, as a 40 something, hates her teaching job, has a bad marriage and is stuck in her life. The final straw is a student's drawing of her as a lumpy, frumpy old woman. Margery leaves her job and sets off on a quest to New Caledonia in the South Pacific to find that beetle.

Along with her quirky, well, downright strange assistant Enid Pretty, the pair of women set off by boat during post war England on a long, arduous sometimes dangerous journey, a journey that Margery felt she had to do for herself.
"She didn't know how she was going to get there, or when. "But the real failure as a woman was not even to try."
The novel is inspirational and funny, heartwrenching and joyous. In addition to Margery and Enid there are the socialite women from overseas, some of whom are suspicious of the women's arrival. There is a man back from the war who had applied to be Margery's assistant and suffered from post-war trauma. Buit nothing will stop Margery from breaking through the brush, climbing mountains in the hopes of finding her beetle.
I rarely give out 5 stars on Goodreads. Rachel Joyce's new novel is a definite 5.

Thanks to Net Galley for a copy of this book. I really enjoyed it. The writing was great and I could picture myself along with the characters quite well. Didn’t love one part of the ending, but I can see why it happened. I recommend this book!

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.

Rachel Joyce created a great reading experience with Miss Benson's Beetle! At first I thought it was just going to be a fun, light read with Margery and Enid's adventures in New Caledonia. But then we began to learn more about their lives and why this trip to find the golden beetle became so important to them. It made me think about what difficult tasks in my life I need to treat the way they did theirs.

Miss Benson's Beetle has the same subtle kind-hearted humor of Joyce's The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, a book I loved and still recommend often. Like Harold Fry, Miss Benson is not the usual novel heroine. She's large boned and heavy, dresses frumpily, and seems to have no sense of humor. Teased by a classroom of teen girls, Miss Benson walks out of her classroom, out of the school, and out of a twenty year job. She doesn't give notice and never looks back or regrets her decision. For the first time in her life, she decides to do what she wants, instead of what's expected.
What she wants is to travel to New Caldonia, in the South Pacific, to find a legendary golden beetle. Her father showed her a picture of the beetle on the day he tragically died. She uses all her savings to buy supplies and tickets to New Caldonia and advertises for an assistant. Enid Pretty is the assistant she winds up with. The opposite of Miss Benson, Enid is petite, brightly dressed, and charming. She has her own reasons for wanting to get out of the country and is willing to do anything to become a good assistant to Miss Benson.

The long arduous journey brings the two women closer and the backbreaking work of hacking their way up a jungle covered mountainside makes them friends for life. But problems both thought they left behind in London follow them to the island and lead to pain and heartbreak as they are forced to fight for their lives. Great read with a nicely wrapped up ending

1950 London
This story is a delightful hodge-lodge of friendship, quirky characters, intense adventure and a dogged pursuit of living life to the fullest. Margery Benson felt the world was against her but one day she decided to do something for herself and travels to the South Pacific wilds of New Calendonia seaching for the elusive golden beetle. She advertises for an assistant and ends up with Enid Pretty, a free thinking polar opposite of Margery and clearly on the lam. They form an unlikely pair sharing the adventure of a lifetime and form a bond neither thought possible. The story is outlandish and is so much fun as it is a story of bravery and survival in a dangerous part of the world. Each woman will figure out what is really important to them and how important they have become to each other. I wish this book had continued for another 300 pages or more. MISS BENSON'S BEETLE will appeal to readers of historical adventures, female friendships and quirky characters that take over your heart.
My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

Read Miss Benson’s Beetle to experience the metamorphosis of two women as they come to understand, appreciate, and rely on each other while coming to terms with their pasts. Margery Benson was ten and devoted to her father. He shows her a book filled with unusual, undiscovered creatures. Her favorite is the golden beetle. It’s 1914. All four of her brothers are killed at the same time. Her father is broken. Margery and her mum move in with her aunts, and her life is changed forever. Flash forward to 1950. Margery is a teacher in a girls school. She’s unhappy, set in her ways, out of touch, and lonely. Her final day there is a complete rumpus. She decides to fulfill her life’s dream of finding the golden beetle. New Caledonia is remote. She will need an assistant. Enid Pretty has had her own share of grief. She is as unlike Margery as it’s possible to be. The two women embark on an adventure that changes them both. This is a book that makes you think about your life choices and a reminder that it’s never too late to change your course in life.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to read this book -- it looked perfect for my book box subscription. I am enjoying it on one level -- I like the characters and the story. However, there is some glaring vocabulary that is completely ruining it for me and I have to put it down, at least for now, while I think about if I want to continue. The word "savage" is used to refer to aboriginal people and the word "retard" is used for kids who are slow learners. I get that this is an historical novel taking place in the 1950s and that these words may have been acceptable back then, but they are not acceptable now and I feel that better words choices could have been made. I run a curated book box and don't feel comfortable recommending a book containing these words.

Miss Benson's Beetle
A Novel
by Rachel Joyce
Random House Publishing Group - Random House
Dial Press Trade Paperback
Historical Fiction | Literary Fiction | Women's Fiction
Pub Date 03 Nov 2020 | Archive Date 31 Jan 2021

This is probably just a book that wasn't for me. I found it difficult to plod through this book and I found the premise I bit too quirky. Thanks to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5 star

A heartwarming story about women's friendship. Margery Benson and Enid Pretty couldn't be more different but through their travels together, they discover the importance of friendship. As they open their hearts and share their secrets, they discover that life's disappointments are more easily navigated with the help of a friend.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Doubleday for providing a digital ARC of for review.

This could be the title that surpasses The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which was an ALA Notable Book. Joyce's characters are so flawed, yet so endearing, we love them and root for them all through their trials, the ups and downs, and the enduring power of friendship against all odds. Thick-headed Margery and scatter-brained Enid take themselves to the ends of the earth and the top of the mountain on an absolutely ridiculous, yet liberating quest for the golden beetle of New Caledonia. It's epic, A great read, a serious discussion of the meaning of life, truth, and the pursuit of happiness, a benediction.

A good read about following your dream, no matter how elusive or at what age. The perseverance and sheer determination of the characters is to be admired as they navigate through heavy odds. It made me want to hang up my life, find a kindred spirit, and get on with following my dreams!

I couldn't finish this book. It started getting crazy ridiculous, and I just couldn't get into it. It just never hooked me.

Like Joyce's Unlikely Adventure of Harold Frye this title tells the story of another unlikely pilgrimage. Miss Benson is on the hunt for the elusive golden beetle said to be found in New Caledonia. After an upsetting event Miss Benson sets off to find the beetle. What follows is a funny, heartwarming, unlikely tale in which Miss Benson discovers more than she expected.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I AM Margery, a middle aged woman who always thought her life would become more than it is. I completely felt Margery’s pain and frustration. On the other hand, “quirky” isn’t really my thing, so while I found the story humorous at times, it went on too long and at points was too ridiculous for my taste.. I appreciated the pearls of wisdom scattered throughout the story ( “human beings are more likely to believe the worst of what is said of them than the best”), and the development of Enid and Margery’s friendship was lovely. I will definitely recommend the book to patrons who request funny or offbeat, even though, on the whole, it wasn’t for me, and was a slower read than it should have been.