The Butterfly Collector is a dual-timeline historical fiction mystery set in Australia in 1868 and 1922. The 1868 timeline centers around Theodora, a young woman more interested in art and nature than in doing what is expected of her and seeking a husband. She discovers what she thinks is a previously-unknown butterfly species. The 1968 timeline centers around Verity, a young female reporter who loses her job when the men return from war expecting to step back into the jobs women had been filling in their time away.

The two seemingly disparate timelines connect in dark and surprising ways via a missing baby case that draws us in right alongside Verity.

I enjoyed this story, especially given the two women at the center who were both, in their own ways, pioneers bucking the conventions of their times.

Emily Barrett did a good job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Tea Cooper, Harper Muse, and NetGalley for providing this ALC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

1868 Morpeth Theodora Breckinridge is still mourning the loss of her parents and brother. She is focused on her art over trying to find a husband even though her older sister has other ideas. With the help of her maid, she is able to make a natural science discovery that can put her on the map. But then her maid's son goes missing and everything changes.

The Butterfly Collector was fascinating and unexpected. There were two timelines, and both were easily followed. The title of the book is a tad misleading to what is really happening in this book, but it works well for the first timeline. I don't know what I was expecting but the underlying plot was very unexpected, and it really made this book a more interesting read. This is my first Tea Cooper book I have read, and I can see myself picking up another.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse for the ARC and the chance to listen and review it honestly.

Happy reading

This book follow three stories lines 1. Verity (1922) 2. Theodora ( 1868) 3. Clarrie (1868).
As this book has multiple POV — I think the audiobook would have been easier to follow and more enjoyable if there was multiple narrators for the different POV — but the narrator chosen was good at reading the story - though I did wish there was more variation in her voicing of male and female characters. But this didn’t detract from the excellent writing of the author.
The longer I listened to this book the more the threads of the story entrapped me and had me needing to know how everything was connected - I was most invested in Verity and Clarrie’s characters and stories and especially —Verity’s investigative reporting . This book is a great addition to Australian literature as it includes historical facts mixed with fiction. The historical notes at the end were really interesting too! I really enjoyed this story and highly recommend it !!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Muse for this ARC , this is my honest review .

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really had no expectations going into this book, just thought it looked interesting and it didn’t let me down! Emily Barrett does a wonderful job with the narration and it was really easy to listen to! This book is historical fiction mixed with some mystery and jumps time periods a bit. It took the first few chapters for me to feel connected to any of the characters, but after that it was all enjoyable. If you’re into historical fiction and mysteries be sure to check this book out!

I wasn't able to get completely into this book. It was hard listening to the narrator; perhaps that was part of the problem. I found the story line hard to follow, as there were many moving parts. I found it hard to keep track of the characters. Some details seemed to be missing as well.

4/5 ⭐️
First off I love the cover!
This is told in duel timelines which I love, that don’t seem to connect at first. This story has intriguing characters and this kept me wanting to read more.

I'd recommend this book as a cozy fall/winter read. It's a slow-paced mystery set across multiple years/generations of intertwining families. While I found the pace a bit slow for my liking, I truly think historical fiction lovers will revel in the details and relationships in The Butterfly Collector.

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book! I will say I had a bit of a hard time keeping track of characters in the audiobook, but it was an enjoyable listen. I was engaged in the story and enjoyed the characters and the mystery. Unfortunately, it felt the ending left something to be desired and I never really figured out the connection of the butterfly.

I am not big on blurbs and expected some mystery in another era from this book but it ended up so much more.

The author beautifully places you in this time period, in the lives of women who can’t support a family and make big sacrifices, thinking it’s best for their children.

What they found, and at the hands of those in monetary power, was deeply disturbing and for you to unravel.

The most deeply tragic part of this story comes in the end, in the true stories of women who experienced what the fictional characters endured.

Theodora is an artist in 1868 Morpeth.
Verity Binks is an aspiring writer in 1922 Australia.

What do these two have in common? A butterfly, a baby and a mystery almost forty years in the making.

Theodora is working to capture nature through her art with the assistance of Clarke, her maid. Then Carrie’s newborn Don goes missing and everything changes.

Verity Binks is sent on an adventure through an invitation and a masquerade ball gown where she is asked to write an article on the Treadway Foundation which is a foundation to help unwed mothers…through this research. Verity finds herself writing about an increasingly dark mystery instead of the puff piece that she expected.

This was a really long book. It was very hard to get through…I feel like it could have been handled just as well in half the time…it was more about the butterfly than the missing child and the mystery surrounding thar.

I was provided this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

So much more than I was expecting!

I find books like this to be so romantic. And I don’t mean in a lovey dovey books. This time period and style of book are comforting to me. I could listen to the narration for hours.

Only thing I will say is that I started to get very stressed over young Charlie! I somehow missed that element of the story when reading the synopsis. I think the title and cover a little bit deceiving to the actual story. Originally I thought it would be more nature focused and relating to the butterflies. I think it’s good that this had more to the story. I always enjoy historical fiction where I can find out real things that happened.

This is perfect for fans of historical fiction. Thank you to NetGalley, Tea Cooper, HarperCollins for the opportunity to read The Butterfly Collector.

EXCERPT: Once she’d stirred the coals to spark some latent warmth into the stove, she reached for the box of matches, lit the lamp’s wick and took a long, slow look at the box. She hooked her fingers under the lid and wriggled it, releasing a tantalising scent of the unknown, exotic—a mixture of rose, spices and something woody. Beneath the lid she discovered a mound of soft, white tissue paper and in the centre a thick cream envelope, her name scrawled across the front in black ink. The sort of envelope that would contain an invitation to a wedding—not any wedding, a society wedding. The sort of invitation that sat on a marble mantelpiece next to a carriage clock, though chance would be a fine thing.
A matching card slipped out, the writing as bold and flamboyant as the event.

SYDNEY ARTISTS MASQUERADE BALL
TOWN HALL, AUGUST 23, 1922
DANCING 8PM TO 2AM
Admit One
Ticket £1

One pound! Almost a week’s wages. She flipped it over:

TICKET NUMBER: 768
PAID IN FULL

The invitation slipped from her hand and fluttered to the tabletop. Who’d sent it? More to the point, why? Her attention flicked to the window where the scraggy fig tree in the backyard rubbed its branches against the dirty panes. Shadowy wings flitted past—bats searching for a roosting place more than like—but her reflection hampered the view and the recollection of the unease she’d felt as she’d cycled through The Cut returned. Stepping away from the window she shook off her uncanny sense of dread.

Imagination, nothing more.

ABOUT 'THE BUTTERFLY COLLECTOR': What connects a botanical illustration of a butterfly with a missing baby and an enigma fifty years in the making? A twisty historical mystery from a bestselling Australian author.

1868 Morpeth Theodora Breckenridge, still in mourning after the loss of her parents and brother at sea, is more interested in working quietly on her art at the family's country estate than she is finding a husband in Sydney society, even if her elder sister Florence has other ideas. Theodora seeks to emulate prestigious nature illustrators, the Scott sisters, who lived nearby, so she cannot believe her luck when she discovers a butterfly never before sighted in Australia. With the help of Clarrie, her maid, and her beautiful illustrations, she is poised to make a natural science discovery that will put her name on the map. Then Clarrie's new-born son goes missing and everything changes.

1922 Sydney When would-be correspondent Verity Binks is sent an anonymous parcel containing a spectacular butterfly costume and an invitation to the Sydney Artists Masquerade Ball on the same day she loses her job at The Arrow, she is both baffled and determined to go. Her late grandfather Sid, an esteemed newspaperman, would expect no less of her. At the ball, she lands a juicy commission to write the history of the Treadwell Foundation - an institution that supports disgraced young women and their babies. But as she begins to dig, her investigation quickly leads her to an increasingly dark and complex mystery, a mystery fifty years in the making. Can she solve it? And will anyone believe her if she does?

MY THOUGHTS: The Butterfly Collector is a twisty, complex mystery based on fact written over two timelines, the 1860s and the 1920s. The book is rich with historical fact and oozes the atmosphere of these times. It also shows the disparity between the wealthy and the lower middle class, those who have to work to get a roof over their heads, who leave their children in the care of others and may only see them once a week. It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same . . .

The dual timeline works well, with each one segueing into the other as Verity examines her family history and uncovers family secrets, a web of lies, an unexpected adoption and the practice of 'baby farming'.

I appreciated the view into the day-to-day life in New South Wales during these time periods but felt the ending to be more than a little rushed. The romance between Arlo and Verity seems to come out of nowhere. Although I enjoyed this, and it is obviously very well researched, I longed to be gripped and excited, and I just wasn't. An above average but not particularly memorable read.
Emily Barrett was superb narrator for this book.

⭐⭐⭐.5

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I: @tea_cooper @harpermusebooks

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THE AUTHOR: Tea Cooper writes Australian contemporary and historical fiction. In a past life she was a teacher, a journalist and a farmer. These days she haunts museums and indulges her passion for storytelling.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Muse via NetGalley for providing an audio ARC of the Butterfly Collector written by Tea Cooper and narrated by Emily Barrett for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this story. It was a good story but I had a hard time keeping interested. Not really sure why, it just didn’t grab me. But it’s well written and the narrator did a good job.

Beautifully narrated by Emily Barrett, the audio book version of Australian Author Tea Cooper’s dual-timeline historical fiction mystery, “The Butterfly Collector,” is a feminist manifesto on progressive rights in sexual relationships; the workplace; and the home front.

Theodora Breckinridge is a 19th C artist and naturalist living in remote Morpeth, Australia, who discovers a phenomena unique to down under shores—a rare butterfly before only known to the Americas.

Roaring ‘20s Sydney, Australia, Journalist Verity Binks is determined to become a leading writer just like her famous grandfather, Sid, but her career dreams are suddenly squelched when she’s fired by her editor from her permanent position to make room for men returning from WWI. Her boss does concede to publish any newsworthy articles she discovers as a stringer, but that’s it.

Luckily, Verity is soon offered a possible lead that could solve not only her desire for writing fame, but perhaps also answers questions about family mysteries that have gone decades without resolution.

This is a story about lies, deceit and betrayal—of unwed mothers whose children are taken from them without their knowledge or permission. It’s haunting and heartbreaking in its tragic truths of Victorian politics and women’s struggles and suffrage at the hands of self-righteous individuals.

TheBookMaven graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Tea Cooper, and Publisher Harper Muse for this advanced audiobook for review.

1868 Morpeth, Australia: Theodora Breckenridge, an aspiring nature illustrator, stumbles upon an unseen Australian butterfly, propelling her towards scientific recognition, until her maid Clarrie’s newborn vanishes, altering their lives forever. Jumping to 1922 in Sydney, would-be journalist Verity Binks receives a mysterious butterfly costume and an invitation, leading her to unravel the intricate history of the Treadwell Foundation, a support system for disgraced young women and their children. As Verity delves deeper, a complex mystery spanning fifty years emerges, challenging her resolve to solve it and be heard.

I’ve really enjoyed the setting of mid 1800’s Australia in this author’s previous books before and I was expecting to do so again. The setting itself sounded beautiful and I would love to visit myself. However, I found it difficult to identify with the three main characters: Theordora, Clarrie, and Verity. Of the three, I was most interested in Theodora, but it felt like the least amount was spent with her, especially towards the end of the book.

At first, I was interested in Verity and the mystery she had to unravel, but the more time spent with her, the more I disliked her. Her personality was grating and I did not enjoy the scenes with her. And I was ambivalent about Clarrie and the situation she found herself in.

My favorite part of this book was the setting. Readers who are interested in historical mysteries may enjoy this one.

The Butterfly Collector is a delightful and captivating story set in Australia. It begins in 1868 with a young lady named, Theodora. She enjoys painting and hopes to emulate her neighbor’s daughters who have done the intricate illustrations for their father’s guidebook on butterflies. She dreams about this so much that she’d rather stay home and paint her beautiful surroundings than venture with her older sisters on an outing to Sydney.

The story continues 54 years later in 1922, with another young Lady named, Verity, who aspires to be a journalist. She is spirited and enjoys riding a bicycle in a time when it is unladylike to do so. She wants to be known for writing articles about topics that further women’s rights.

The story switches back and forth between the two girls and their narratives finally bringing their lives together in a surprising way.

There are many secrets along the way, including a missing baby and long hidden family secrets. The beginning is slow while the story is being set up but when it picked up the pace I couldn’t stop listening. The ending brings the secrets to light and you finally see how everything is tied together.

Tea Cooper has done intense investigation about the events and people in Australia during both time periods and even though it’s fiction she has carefully added important facts. She explains fact vs fiction in an authors note. She also suggests books to read if you want to learn more.

This is a great historical mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Many thanks to Harper Muse via NetGalley Audio.

This book is a historical fiction, women’s section, and a mystery/thriller. I can definitely see the women’s fiction and the historical fiction, but it was highly lacking in mystery and the thriller part. Overall, if you really enjoy historical fiction with a strong female lead, this might be the book for you. The characters and the story were historically accurate and very detailed in regards to history, but again it was lacking in mystery and thrill for me. I expected more of that.

Things I liked:
World building
Balance between the two timelines
Characters
Mystery and suspense throughout the book
Cover
Narration
Ending

Things I didn’t:
Too much things are happening at the same time
Story didn’t feel like going forward uni till like 40% of the book (I literally didn’t know what to expect from this book)
Questions left unanswered
Title (I felt that title is not related to the story)

Rating: 3.75/5 stars

This book has a dual timeline that seem like they have absolutely nothing to do with the other but eventually they do connect! Theodora is invited to go to Sydney with her sisters to find husbands but she chooses to stay home with her maid. Her maids baby goes missing and it brings up tons of mystery! In 1922, Verity has been an author and is now being pushed aside for the men returning from war. She’s trying to find a new story and stumbles upon a doozy that intertwines with her own family history. I really enjoyed the story of this book. I listened via audio and the audio narrator was not my favorite. I loved the historical knowledge in this book and found myself googling additional information. Nice read! Great characters!

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I enjoyed The Butterfly Collector. It was a very interesting book: butterflies and baby farming. You wouldn't think they go together, but Tea Cooper weaves together an amazing mystery. I enjoyed getting to know the characters. I felt like was at the Landing with Thea. I highly recommend this novel.
I thought the narrator was wonderful.