description: Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted stand-in mother, Rosaleen, insults three of the town's fiercest racists, Lily decides they should both escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters who introduce Lily to a mesmerizing world of bees, honey, and the Black Madonna who presides over their household. This is a remarkable story about divine female power and the transforming power of love--a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.
language: English
title: The Secret Life of Bees
titlecomplete: The Secret Life of Bees
characters: T. Ray Owens, August Boatwright, June Boatwright, Rosaleen, Lily Owens, May Boatwright
genres: Coming Of Age, Historical, Historical Fiction, Novels, Adult Fiction, Young Adult, Classics, Adult, Fiction, Contemporary
ratings_count: 1266305
places: South Carolina, The United States of America, Tiburon, South Carolina
awards: awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: Orange Prize
category: Fiction Longlist, awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: Book Sense Book of the Year Award
category: Paperback, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Lincoln Award, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Gateway Readers Award, awardedAt: 1230796800000
name: LovelyBooks Leserpreis
category: Allgemeine Literatur
publisher: Penguin