Book Club – Miss Benson’s Beetle

Join us for our Monthly Book Club, where book lovers come together to discuss a wide range of literary genres, from contemporary fiction to timeless classics. Each month, we select a new book to dive into and explore its themes, characters, and plot twists in a friendly and welcoming environment. Whether you’re a seasoned reader or just looking to start a new hobby, our book club offers a great opportunity to share your thoughts, discover new authors, and meet fellow literature enthusiasts.

This month, we’ll be discussing the book Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce.  It is 1950. London is still reeling from World War II, and Margery Benson, a schoolteacher and spinster, is trying to get through life, surviving on scraps. One day, she reaches her breaking point, abandoning her job and small existence to set out on an expedition to the other side of the world in search of her childhood obsession: an insect that may or may not exist–the golden beetle of New Caledonia. When she advertises for an assistant to accompany her, the woman she ends up with is the last person she had in mind. Fun-loving Enid Pretty in her tight-fitting pink suit and pom-pom sandals seems to attract trouble wherever she goes. But together these two British women find themselves drawn into a cross-ocean adventure that exceeds all expectations and delivers something neither of them expected to find: the transformative power of friendship.