Miss Benson's Beetle

WINNER OF THE WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE | BEST PUBLISHED NOVEL WOMAN & HOME BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR and A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'The perfect escape novel for our troubled times.' PATRICK GALE 'If you’re wishing you could be in a faraway land right now, but would accept the alternative route to New Caledonia via a deliciously improbable plot, wonderful characters, sparkling sentences, and too many belly laughs to count: have I got a novel for you.'

BARBARA KINGSOLVER 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. 'A girl's own adventure...This is Rachel Joyce's best book yet ...Exciting, moving and full of unexpected turns.'

THE TIMES 'Brilliant and elegant and wise...powerful and moving...I can't recommend it enough.' JOANNA CANNON 'A beautiful portrayal of female friendship in all its frailties, contradictions and strengths.' RAYNOR WINN WOMAN & HOME BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2020; DAILY MAIL BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2020; BOOKMARK BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020; GOOD HOUSEKEEPING BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2020 Rachel Joyce's latest novel, The Homemade God is out now in paperback.