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Miss Benson's Beetle
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction
Non-member price: $39.50
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Publisher's Summary
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.
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What listeners say about Miss Benson's Beetle
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- C E Parr
- 22-12-2020
Delicious
A wonderful tale with a gentle narrator, the story is so well told, I didn’t want it to end.
1 person found this helpful
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- Shalleycat
- 18-10-2020
Joyce's Entomology Excels
Gorgeous tale of two women's search for a rare insect. Stevenson's narration almost steals show.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 25-03-2021
Memorable characters on an extraordinary journey
I loved this book. Two very different women form unlikely companions on this remarkable journey. The physical journey to New Caledonia is fantastic but as with the author's other work it's the character's journey that is captivating.
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- Julie D
- 20-03-2021
Wonderful
A wonderful story, beautifully narrated. I adore this book, it will stay with me for a very long time.
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- jenny
- 27-02-2021
Such a surprising book!
Miss Benson’s Beetle is a truly amazing book. It is full of a myriad assortment of people with the main characters of Margery and Enid being so finely drawn that you live their pains and joys almost personally. Dreams are fulfilled and shattered. It is set in the early 1950s and moves from London, to Australia and New Caledonia in the age of capital punishment and male dominance. Surprising in its scope, the book is as complex as a novel can be in many many ways.
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- Anna
- 17-02-2021
Very unusual but captivating story
I really enjoyed this book and the narrator did an excellent job. The characters were totally credible.
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- Danie
- 15-02-2021
Beetlejuice
Loved it. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would enjoy a book about a lady looking for beetles in the 1940s. Beautifully written and the person reading was perfect.
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- LollyPolly
- 27-10-2020
A Delightful Read
A wonderfully written book, I loved it. Characters are well crafted and it’s beautifully narrated. You can’t help wanting to know more and rooting for them. It took a chapter or two to get into but it’s a delightful read.
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- Anonymous User
- 13-10-2020
Warm Adventure
Such a beautiful friendship and an adventure that you want it to go on forever.
Highly recommend
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- Tracey
- 24-09-2020
One of those never put down books.
A wonderful story. One of those books you don't want to end. You want to hear more of their adventure the more it develops. Just when you think thats it...another twist happens...and keeps you wanting more.
Love the friendship they develop and the discovery that you never too old or too young to go on that adventure. You never know what lies ahead of you don't take that first step.
2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-04-2021
Delightful
The story is skilfully and subtley written. The characters are rich and real. The narrator does the story and all the characters justice - deep and authentic. Definitely recommending
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- Nikki Zachman
- 29-03-2021
What a delight
The narration and performance were faultless; the story beautiful and poignant. I loved every word.
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- Masauso
- 20-03-2021
Gripping
Absolutely gripping story. I didn’t even notice where the time went!
It appealed to the little child inside of me so I’d say this book is suitable for everyone. So sad it ended. I was absolutely captivated. It gets a full set of stars from me✨
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- granilovo
- 28-02-2021
Not what I expected
I read rave reviews about this book, however, I was not enthralled. There was no real story
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- Anonymous User
- 08-02-2021
Wonderful story
I loved this audiobook from the first few paragraphs. It was quirky and beautifully layered and the narrator pitched each of the characters perfectly. I will remember Margery and Edith for a long time to come and will look for other audiobooks narrated by Juliet Stevenson .
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- Anonymous User
- 04-01-2021
Absolutely wonderful!
I loved the narration, it was excellently produced and kept me interested to the very end. I think it is a good story for many ages and I will definitely recommend it to my sister to have a listen. Thank you!
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-01-2021
Most wonderful narration
The story was unusual, unexpectedly witty and magnificently narrated.
A real treat . I highly recommended it
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- Anonymous User
- 08-12-2020
Didn't like it
This book wasn't for me and I struggled to finish it. In fact, I decided to quit before I reached the end, because life is too short to waste on a book you do not enjoy! The storyline was iffy and the characters unbelievable and unrelatable.
Chapter after chapter I was waiting for something to HAPPEN, but I was left disappointed. Don't know if I am missing out on a punchline of an ending, but somehow I doubt it.
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- Claire
- 30-11-2020
10 stars all round
Loved all the charaters, the storyline and the wonderful narration especially the pompous miners wives.
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- Rachel Redford
- 21-08-2020
Finding the way
I've followed Rachel Joyce since her first strangely wonderful book The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, and Miss Benson's Beetle is just as wonderful. What arresting opening few paragraphs! Young Margery hears her father take a phone call during WW1 muttering only 'ALL of them? ALL of them?' and then hears the gunshot after he goes in silence into the garden. Her four brothers had all died on the same day at Mons and her mother spends the rest of her life mainly sitting in her chair. (as well she might).
Rachel Joyce's characters have experienced impossibly terrible life-crushing grief in their pasts, and have led diminished lives as a consequence. But there ARE second chances in life and extraordinary experiences enable new lives to bud and bloom. Margery is obsessed about finding the golden beetle in New Colorado which he father had told her about and after her mother's death, she sets off with the most unlikely assistant: garrulous Enid with her dyed yellow hair, ridiculous shoes and pink clothes who knows nothing about beetles let alone the other side of the world.
Enid's life has been rackety and tough - exactly how tough develops throughout the story, her deep longing for a baby having been thwarted by miscarriages and a sick husband being only one part of it. As the two women embark on this crazy buddy caper, an unlikely bond deeper and stronger than either of them have experienced with any other human being grows between them. There's comedy as well as tenderness and humanity which never dips into sentimentality. The story is jam-packed with adventure, danger, suspense and beauty; the plot constantly growing in complexity as the backgrounds of Margery and Enid are explored. Another theme is Mr Mundic who originally wanted to lead Margery's expedition and who remains an unseen presence until the end. (What an end!) His background working on the Burma railway and the confused trauma in which he lives is astoundingly vivid and empathetic. The last chapter is 30 years later - and Rachel Joyce still has wonderful surprises in this glorious redemptive story.
Juliet Stevenson is of course a great narrator with some scenes (you'll know which ones!) so real that you can hardly bear to listen. I found though that she over-did Enid's harsh accent - the cultural differences between the two women didn't need to be made so obvious. But that's just a quibble. One of the best books I've listened to for quite a while.
20 people found this helpful
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- V. O'Regan
- 25-07-2020
Excellent story of female friendship
This was a remarkable story of friendship and exploration. Juliet Stevenson is one of my favourite narrators and was a joy to listen to
12 people found this helpful
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- Jules
- 27-07-2020
What a beautiful book!
Beautifully written and perfectly read. It made me laugh out loud and brought tears to my eyes. You must listen to this one.
8 people found this helpful
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- Seaglass
- 17-08-2020
Utterly Delightful
I could have carried on listening to this adventure forever. Such an unlikely and comical friendship and a tale that takes you somewhere you’ve barely even noticed on the globe. Juliet Stephenson reads as expertly as ever.
7 people found this helpful
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- Lesley Perks
- 28-07-2020
Must listen to!
As usual a wonderful story impeccably read, and a joy from start to finish sigh!
6 people found this helpful
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- Pam Joy
- 28-07-2020
Loved it
narration fabulous. Lots of wonderful moments/ insights in the story. I could see it all vividly.
6 people found this helpful
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- Megan Gibbs
- 19-08-2020
Favourite Book of all time
I absolutely loved every single word of this book and listened to it over 3 days. So funny and yet so sad as well . Juliet Stevenson’s narration was first class. I could easily listen to it again and again.
5 people found this helpful
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- ChichesterSunshine
- 14-08-2020
A delight. So well written (& read) loved it
I would recommend this book in a heartbeat. I read and listen to many many books and was looking for something a little different to crime thrillers, historic fiction or chic lit - all ok but I wanted something more. This was perfect. I enjoyed the characters, the pace, the developing story alongside the back stories and it made me smile and chuckle to myself at times too. As an audible book the narrator can break even the best novel - so pleased that Juliet Stevenson did this one, couldn’t have been a better choice. I know they won’t see it but all the same a massive thank you to the author.
5 people found this helpful
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- Sigrin
- 18-09-2020
Margery and Enid’s great adventure
I greatly enjoyed Rachel Joyce’s previous novels as she has an affinity to understand emotions and write thoughtfully. Set in the 1950s post war, with all the foibles of rationing still in place in the UK and the ridiculous oppression of women despite their heroic efforts in the war where they are still having to fight for their worthiness in society. The principal character Margery Benson is a rather old fashioned, stuffy late 40’s spinster who I did not take to immediately. Enid pretty aka Nancy Collet was a likeable if absent minded character. However as the book progresses and their lives are slowly revealed, you see these women are so different but so similar. The title and search for the elusive beetle is small fry compared to the observations of the two women’s spirit, resilience and hope, which Ms Joyce’s captures so well in writing. Juliet Stevenson narrates beautifully and I will agree with one other reviewer who said she made Enid a little too common. However it did not spoil anything for me personally. The other characters in the book are well drawn you will recognize many of them in your lives with just different names. The incredible bond that flows through this book of these two unlikely women is gentle as it is wonderful. Great book highly recommend
4 people found this helpful
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- Jennifer Jefferson
- 14-08-2020
Marvellous
This tale is real escapism.
The characters are engaging.
I really didn’t want it to end
4 people found this helpful
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