Throw away your self-help guides and simply buy a copy of MISS BENSON'S BEETLE. It has all the "how to live a better life" advice anyone could ever seek. PLUS lots of sweet chuckles, if not actual laughs.

Yes, it is an improbable and poignant story, but it is a "coming of age" saga of the ages, even though the character coming of age is in her mid 40's. I enjoyed every minute I spent with this book and was rooting for Miss Benson to find her elusive golden beetle as I quickly turned every virtual page of this book.

NetGalley provided me a complimentary copy of this book in return for a candid review.

Margery Benson is a lonely, middle-aged spinster who has plodded through a tragic childhood & a loveless, boring adulthood. After she is embarrassed by an incident at the school where she teaches, she finally snaps & decides to ditch everything & go searching for a golden beetle that her father told her about in childhood.

The rest of the novel is a somewhat madcap adventure as Margery teams up with the outlandish Enid & they set out for New Caldonia to search for the beetle. The novel is alternately hilarious & heartbreaking as along the way Margery learns to value herself & her friendship with Edith.

The ending is not quite what I hoped, but it makes sense & the very end of the novel is hopeful.

I found the descriptions of the era quite interesting & a story featuring a woman scientist is always of interest to me. Rachel Joyce is definitely an author I will follow.

Miss Benson's Beetle is by the author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, a book that I very much enjoyed.  So, I was excited to receive this e galley from the publisher.  The book does not disappoint.


As has been true in her other novels, Rachel Joyce is a mistress of creating quirky characters for whom readers will care.  The beginning of the novel introduces Miss Benson.  What teacher will not identify with her 'losing it,' even if they might not take the actions that she does?


From this unlikely beginning Miss Benson goes on the quest of her lifetime, to the New Caledonia, in search of a rare golden beetle.  Readers learn what led to this obsession and of the tragedies in Miss Benson's past.  Accompanying Miss Benson is the irrepressible Enid Pretty who has her own back story.  There is also another less savory and wounded character whom Miss Benson did not hire when she met him. 


This is a story about doing what one dreams of in life.  It is about embarking on a journey without knowing how it will end.  Isn't this a universal of going on journeys and taking risks?  Readers will become attached to the story and character and will immerse themselves in Miss Benson's world.


This is a novel that has both humor and heart.  I highly recommend it.

What an beautiful, offbeat novel. Set in post WWII England, the two protagonists are both foils to one another, as well as unexpected friends as their obscure journey unfolds. The prose in this book is beautiful, and while this was my first Rachel Joyce novel, it will not be my last. She has a way of creating empathy with the characters, even in their most unlikeable moments. It reminded me a bit of Evie Drake Starts Over, or Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - if you liked those novels, be sure to pick this one up.

I do not recommend this book if you love dogs. It's just too cruel.
Margery Benson's had enough. Life has been one disappointment after another. Finally, pushed over the edge by her students she walks out of her life and takes up a daring adventure in search of a golden beetle. She seeks a capable assistant to accompany her but through a course of events ends up with the exact opposite in Mrs. Enid Pretty. Margery, no matter her age, is highly relatable. The stark contrast of the colorful Enid Pretty to the drab Margery makes for a fun adventure. There are a few downsides though. Like I said in the beginning, if you are a dog lover, I do not recommend this book. I almost stopped reading because of it. Also, there is a subplot with a creepy guy that detracts from Margery & Enid's adventure. Both the dog and the creepy guy could be eliminated from the story and it would be so much better.. I ended up just skipping over the creepy guy chapters because they were so bad. So I took one star off for the dog and one star off for the creepy guy.

Rich, full-bodied and lovable characters and a story that was truly a joy to read. I will carry this book in my heart for always.

Joyce is so good with fleshing out characters; I loved Harold Fry and Queenie because of that ability.
Marge took some finessing, however, before I really fell for her.
I thought the plot was predictable but the verbiage gorgeous.
I would definitely recommend this read to library patrons and friends.

I adored The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry so I was so excited to receive Miss Benson's Beetle provided by netgalley. I hate to say it, but this book was just one big disappointment. The main characters were annoying and the biggest aggravation was the character of Mundic. I didn't get it and the entire time I was reading I kept thinking why is this guy in this book. To me he and his story were completely unnecessary. I really wanted to love this book but I just became more annoyed the more I read.

I was so eager to read this book by Joyce after absolutely loving The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and the companion book, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy! Unfortunately, this one seemed like it was written by a completely different author. I find it very hard to review a book that was liked by so many readers and it is hard for me to fathom what they found so compelling! I like a book with quirky characters, but this one is over the top!! The only thing I found remotely interesting was the friendship that developed between Margery and Enid. There was nothing believable about the story from beginning to end and I do not recommend it!

Author Rachel Joyce knows how to tell a story. She draws in the reader with surprising details and with a story demanding an audience. I couldn’t put it down.

The book begins with Miss Benson, a spinster teacher, who has just learned what her students think of her. Shocked—perhaps because we never see ourselves the way others see us—she does several things so far out of character that leaving the country seems a good idea. Indeed, leaving the country is an out-of-character decision.

Leaving her job, she decides to go off to New Caledonia to find a theorized but never before identified and categorized golden beetle. What follows is a story of self-discovery, limits reached and surpassed, and unexpected friendships.

Margery fell in love with a beetle at a young age. Margery has four brothers that are soldiers. The beetle Margey fell in love with was a golden beetle so she vowed to find it. Her father gets upset and does the unthinkable. I loved that Enid joined Margery s journey. I liked that Enid and Margery were different. I liked the drama with the Pow. I liked that Enid's past came back to haunt her

Rapid-fire dialogue and some wonderful female relationships, Miss Benson's Beetle is one charming little book.

A tad too much detail ,the strange character of Munich and the ending were some of my least favourite parts of this book about a developing female relationship. The book also contained many sad but revealing insights into loneliness, deep rooted secrets and post traumatic stress . It also highlighted uniqueness and how people who seem so different develop the most rewarding relationships. A quaint read about beetles and how not being the norm or following the norm often has positive outcomes.

I was surprised at how enjoyable this book was. It is the story of two spinsters who travel half way across the world in search of the golden beetle. No one has ever seen this beetle so one of the underlying plots is the question of whether this beetle even exists. These two are adorable in their pursuit. I found this book to be charming and rooted for the two of them from beginning to end. I loved it!.

Loved this book! I’ve decided that one of my favorite type of books to read are books with quirky characters. I loved Margery Benson and Enid Pretty so much! They are truly an unlikely pair, but they discovered that they can do more than they or others thought they could. Thanks to NetGalley for this advance readers copy.

Oh, Miss Benson! This story was a wild ride from beginning to end, and I ended up really loving it. I was captured from the start by Margery Benson's quirky character and her drive to accomplish a potentially impossible task. Her accomplice, Enid, was equally quirky but in different ways. I took a star from this book because for the middle third of it I felt that it dragged a bit, and at first I felt that the pace that the friendship developed between Margery & Enid was a little bit unbelievable. That said, I essentially read the last third of it in one sitting as it really picked up, and by the end I was emotional myself over their true friendship. I recommend this one, just be prepared to get through the middle of it and you'll be rewarded by the end!

Thank you to #Netgalley & #Randomhouse for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

If you are looking for a novel to take your mind off your pandemic blues, this is the perfect book. Rachel Joyce’s main characters, two women who couldn’t be more different than each other, and more quirky, find themselves on an adventure to find Mrs. Benson’s beloved beetle, This novel is not only funny, but it has a heart, and it does have one less enjoyable character, a man suffering from PTSD, and an obsessive love for Mrs. Benson, a woman he met only briefly, when she was interviewing candidates to be her assistant for this beetle adventure. The only thing I regret is the ending, but since I don’t want to give any spoilers, I shall say no more.

I am confused. Did I read the same story as the majority of readers? I hate to be a an unkind person, but I never really understood Miss Benson's Beetle.

Marjory Benson led a sad and lonely life. She had no family life to speak of, did not get along with her co-workers and, until she was 47 years old, she never had a friend. She gave up her simple existence to pursue a golden beetle halfway across the world.

I found Marjory was not an easy woman to like. She oozed disappointment. I empathized with her childhood but after that, I never engaged with her character.

And Enid Pretty? Her upbeat zaniness should have been refreshing. Instead, I thought she was loony. She had difficulty committing to anything.

After these two women met, their peculiar journey was set in motion. An obsession with multiple misadventures filled the pages. A murder provided an upset. It was not easy getting a handle on this couple’s ’friendship’.

I had even more issues with the introduction of Mundic, the POW. We were given very little information on him except that he was homeless, had memory issues and mentally unstable. I did not like that he was portrayed as the villain.

All in all, the pacing of Miss Benson's Beetle was out of step and slow. The characters were quirky but without depth. The ruses and devices used to move the plot along were too often in conflict with one another. Maybe it was one of those ‘it’s me, not you’ moments, but I simply never caught on with all the glowing four and five star reviews.

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House; I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have enjoyed Rachel Joyce's other books and this one was no exception. Her characters are quirky and lovable - in this case Enid and Margery. I was lost in the story from the first couple of pages and I really enjoyed Ms. Joyce's way with words. I highly recommend this book.

I started reading this book and from the first sentence I fell in love with it. This book was a travel book to New Caledonia for covid 19 stay at home order times. The characters are so rich and fun I wanted to join Marge and Enid, and the dog, Mr. Mundic not so much. The book is pure joy and has quite a few laugh out loud moments. The bond between Marge and Enid is the glue of the book that will bring you to the end. My background is in Entomology and I would say this part of the book was very well researched. The book surprises you through out but I never felt dread. I truly hated finishing this book.