Miss Benson’s Beetle, Rachel Joyce, Juliet Stevenson, narrator
The time is 1950, the place is Great Britain. One day, Margery Benson, a spinster who teachers domestic science, discovers that she is the butt of a classroom joke. Behind her back, the students are passing a note making fun of her. She snaps, grows upset at always being laughed at, and loosens the chains that bind her, first by walking out of the class and stealing a pair of boots, and then by making a monumental decision to change her life completely.
As a child, her father had introduced her to a mythical golden beetle supposedly found in New Caledonia. Later on, an older man who becomes her mentor, introduces her to and trains her in, the field of entomology. She had always wanted to search for and discover the golden beetle that had never been documented. After the episode of humiliation in her classroom, she decided to go on an expedition in search of the insect. She interviews several candidates to lead her on this adventure, but through a series of unexpected circumstances, she winds up embarking on her trip with the one least qualified and most inappropriate. The two women are polar opposites.
As they embark, Margery realizes that Enid Pretty, whom she has hired, is going to try her soul. Margery is ungainly and introverted, Enid is petite and flamboyant, Margery loves browns, Enid loves primary colors, Margery is the silent type, but Enid talks incessantly. Margery is in her fifties and Enid is in her twenties. Margery is rigid and uptight, Enid is footloose and fancy free, Margery had always been moral and ethical, until her recent petty theft, but Enid lives in a world where she does what she has to in order to survive, breaking rules indiscriminately. Margery tends to pessimism and Enid to optimism. They are from different classes in society, as well. They do have one thing in common, though, both have experienced tragedies in their lives that they have had to overcome. However, each had chose a different path. Now they must learn to walk the same one, together. As they endure the hardships of the trip, they learn what it means to finally have a real friend, and to experience a caring relationship that is filled with warmth and loyalty, consideration and support.
In the search for the beetle, they learn to accommodate strange environments and a lack of creature comforts. They overcome danger, surprising each other with their resilience. They comfort each other and learn from each other. Often, Murphy’s Law interrupts their efforts, but they always soldier on, each encouraging the other when one begins to flag. They enrich each other’s lives through thick and thin. They forge a deep bond.
The characters in the novel are all damaged in some way and yet, to the reader, they are sympathetic. The book explores the damage war inflicts on the victims, soldiers and civilians alike. It exposes and mocks the class differences and elitism in British society. The humor that invades their escapades will delight the reader but at other times their stories will tug at the reader’s heartstrings.

Slow start but wonderful character development. By the middle we were rooting for them.

The variety of characters was quite fun and insightful - we all have different personalities shaped by genetics and life. This book took them to an extreme and explored how friendship, support, and acceptance of each other is vital to a fulfilling life.