“I fell in love with these characters—as unforgettable and unlikely a pair as Thelma and Louise. Their devotion to each other as they trek up and down mountains halfway around the world 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 gripping tale of 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
“Miss Benson’s Beetle is a pure joyride. Sweet, witty, poignant, filled with intrigue and unlikely friendship, it’s a perfect escape. I loved it.”
—LISA WINGATE, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours
“For Eleanor Oliphant fans, Miss Benson’s Beetle is pure gold—full of complex, memorable women, plot twists, and a deft balance of hilarity and emotion, it’s a book you’ll stay up late to finish.”
—J. RYAN STRADAL, bestselling author of The Lager Queen of Minnesota
“Whatever you may look for in a novel—adventure, fully realized characters, humor, poignancy, a chance to learn something new—is all here in Miss Benson’s Beetle. What’s also here is the particular grace and humanity that Rachel Joyce brings to her work. She reminds us that we all are broken in one way or another, but that we are capable—oftentimes in unexpected ways—of helping to make ourselves and others whole. This beautifully written novel is an absolute delight.”
—ELIZABETH BERG, New York Times bestselling author of The Story of Arthur Truluv
“So fast-paced and fun it’ll make you remember why you loved reading in the first place. Miss Benson’s Beetle has everything: adventure, mystery, and the greatest, most unlikely friendship, all rendered in some of the most beautiful, enchanting prose you’ll ever read. It’s full of humor, pathos, and insight, extolling the virtues of love, acceptance, and hard-won self-discovery—all that gleams about the human spirit. It’ll capture you right at the beginning and hold you tight the whole way through. This book is a pure and serious joy.”
—PAULA SAUNDERS, author of The Distance Home
“Exciting, moving and full of unexpected turns…[This is] Rachel Joyce’s best novel yet.”
—The Times (UK)
“A joy of a novel, with real insight into the lives of women, the value of friendship and the lasting effects of war.”
—The Guardian
“Joyce’s characters are so charmingly eccentric that they could have leapt straight from the pages of a Dickens novel. Enid is a comedic masterpiece, effervescent and brimming with life. This exhilarating story will scoop you up and carry you along to a dizzying crescendo. But it is also a story of an unlikely friendship and of women who refuse to be defined by the labels cast upon them….Funny, wise, and utterly life-affirming.”
—Daily Express
“Rachel Joyce created an unforgettable character in Harold Fry and she’s done it again with Margery Benson….Hilarious.”
—Good Housekeeping
“A hilarious jaunt into the wilderness of women’s friendship and the triumph of outrageous dreams.”
—Kirkus Reviews