Miss Benson'S Beetle

'A beautiful portrayal of female friendship in all its frailties, contradictions and strengths' RAYNOR WINN

'Funny, perceptive and life-enhancing. I urge you to read it' SARAH WINMAN

'The perfect escape novel for our troubled times' PATRICK GALE

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It is 1950. In a devastating moment of clarity, Margery Benson abandons her dead-end job and advertises for an assistant to accompany her on an expedition. She is going to travel to the other side of the world to search for a beetle that may or may not exist.
Enid Pretty, in her unlikely pink travel suit, is not the companion Margery had in mind. And yet together they will be drawn into an adventure that will exceed every expectation. They will risk everything, break all the rules, and at the top of a red mountain, discover their best selves.

This is a story that is less about what can be found than the belief it might be found; it is an intoxicating adventure story but it is also about what it means to be a woman and a tender exploration of a friendship that defies all boundaries.

Review: BEST BOOKS FOR SUMMER 2020: uplifting * Stylist *
Rachel Joyce created an unforgettable character with Harold Fry and she's done it again with Margery Benson ... Hilarious * Good Housekeeping *
An enchanting story of friendship and self-discovery * Scottish Herald *
I greatly enjoyed this warm and charming novel about one of the most ill-matched companions in comic literature. The heroically intellectual, ungainly, unsociable Margery and the barely literate, flighty, charming, crazy Enid are both brave in very different yet ultimately compatible ways. Their adventures both on board ship and in New Caledonia read like EF Benson's Mapp and Lucia rewritten by the gentler pen of Barbara Pym * Amanda Craig, author of The Golden Rule *
I've loved Rachel's writing since Harold's canvas shoes. Miss Benson's Beetle is just as brilliant and elegant and wise. It's also powerful and moving and I can't recommend it enough * Joanna Cannon *
I loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, but Miss Benson's Beetle is even better. The characters have a richness and depth that drew me into their story immediately. And what characters! This book is far more than an unexpected adventure, it's a beautiful portrayal of female friendship in all its frailties, contradictions and strengths. It made me think we all have the power to be so much more than we imagine when we cut the chains of expectation. I actually feel as if I've just lost a positive, powerful friend - I'm cut adrift, I haven't been so immersed in a novel for years * Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path *
Rachel Joyce is a masterful storyteller. She has written the perfect book for these times. Funny, perceptive and life-enhancing. I urge you to read it * Sarah Winman, author of When God was a Rabbit *
Miss Benson's Beetle is the perfect escape novel for our troubled times, about a woman in emotional, professional and physical lockdown who breaks free to reclaim her true self. It's as funny and nourishing as a classic Ealing comedy, as feminist as your formidable great-aunt * Patrick Gale, author of Notes from an Exhibition *
I fell in love with the unlikely friendship between two wildly different women, Enid Pretty and Margery Benson-their devotion to each other as they trek up and down mountains in someplace called New Caledonia is a hysterical delight. This novel made me realize how hungry I am for stories about women loving each other into being their best selves. Many thanks to Rachel Joyce for writing one * Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward *
A beautifully written, extraordinary quest in which two ordinary, overlooked women embark on an unlikely scientific expedition to the South Seas. A classic tale of gripping adventure and friendship, told from the subversive and often hilarious female view * Helen Simonson, New York Times bestselling author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand *

Author Biography:

Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, The Music Shop and a collection of interlinked short stories, A Snow Garden & Other Stories. Her books have been translated into thirty-six languages and two are in development for film.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Rachel was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards 'New Writer of the Year' in December 2012 and shortlisted for the 'UK Author of the Year' 2014.

Rachel has also written over twenty original afternoon plays and adaptations of the classics for BBC Radio 4, including all the Bronte novels. She moved to writing after a long career as an actor, performing leading roles for the RSC, the National Theatre and Cheek by Jowl.

She lives with her family in Gloucestershire.