Ever since men first hunted for honeycomb in rocks and daubed pictures of it on cave walls, the honeybee has been seen as one of the wonders of nature: social, industrious, beautiful, terrifying. No other creature has inspired in humans an identification so passionate, persistent or fantastical.



In this gem of a book, award-winning writer Bee Wilson explores the magical world of the honeybee. From the hive to honey, from beekeepers to honeymooners, via Aristotle, Shakespeare, Napoleon and Sherlock Holmes, here is a book that delights and surprises at every turn. And there is even a recipe or two.

The story of the inspiring relationship between bees, their hive and the human world, brilliantly reviewed in hardback

About the Author
Bee Wilson is a food writer and historian. For five years she was the food critic of the New Statesman and now writes a weekly food column for the Sunday Telegraph. In 2002 she was named Radio 4 food writer of the year. She is currently a research fellow in the History of Ideas at St John's College, Cambridge. She is married, with two children.

Reviews
A light and delicious book, in an exceptionally pretty honey-coloured jacket gilded with bees, and it is written with sparkle and charm ... some of her best writing is about the deliciousness of honey, and it is hard to read her chapter of recipes without drooling. * The Tablet *
Can hardly be bettered. * Guardian *
Bee Wilson's little book is a small hive of treasure. It is a sweet celebration of our appreciation of the honeybee * Dumfries and Galloway Standard *
Fascinating, careful, witty and intelligent ... Riveting ... Almost any paragraph chosen at random is entertaining * Prue Leith, New Statesman *
Richly informative and beautifully written * The Times *
Wonderfully entertaining reading. * The Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society *
Erudite and elegant ... Bee Wilson writes fluently and engagingly and she manages to present a great deal of curious information in a form as easy to swallow as a spoonful of the finest Attic honey ... The book is also exceptionally pleasing to look at and hold. * Tom Fort, Sunday Telegraph *
A fascinating tribute to the bee * Woman & Home *
This biography is immensely detailed, intelligent, generous, sympathetic, and often entertaining...Betjeman fans...will delight in Hillier's monumental work * Literary Review *
Entertaining and thoroughly worthwhile * Sunday Times *
Fascinating * Humphrey Carpenter, Sunday Times *
This biography is immensely detailed, intelligent, generous, sympathetic, and often entertaining...Betjeman fans...will delight in Hillier's monumental work * Literary Review *
A charming, fascinating pot-pourri of all things beelike * Bookseller *
Erudite, informative, accurate and a delight to read. * The Times Literary Supplement *
Wilson presents the history of the honeybee in this engaging and anecdote-filled account * Publishing News *
'Wilson has a fine eye for character sketches' * The Times *
'For a moment you may feel, as I did, that part of Wilson's research for this book involved turning into a bee for a few days ... Amazing.' -- Nick Lezard * Guardian *
'Beautifully produced and well-researched ...leaving readers to marvel'. * Good Book Guide *
'There are delights and surprises on virtually every page of this gem of a book' * Sunday Telegraph *
'Bee Wilson conveys a real sense of the relationship between bees and us, and her short, punchy chapters are witty and fascinating' * Easy Living *
'Wilson's sprightly hymn to the honeybee ... conveys ... the marvel, complexity and ultimate unknowability that has made the beehive such a fascination * Independent *
'This is the Christmas book with a real sting.' * Saga *
She manages to present a great deal of information in a form as easy to swallow as a spoonful of honey. * Tom Fort, Sunday Telegraph *
Buzzes with info and has the prettiest dust-jacket of the third millennium * Barry Humphries, Sunday Telegraph *
Endlessly fascinating * Mail on Sunday *
'A riveting read . . .this beguiling book is more a history of ideas than an actual study . . .buzzing with fascinating facts' * BBC Gardener's World Magazine *
'Bee Wilson recounts all the weird and wonderful things people have believed about bees' * History Today *
'Juicy reading . . .worth buying for the illustration on p. 204 alone' * The Spectator *
'Bee Wilson . . .connects readers' imaginations with their salivary glands' * New Statesman *
'A brilliant examination of a natural phenomenon we all take for granted' * Sunday Express *
'Delightful' * Economist *
'Fascinating and readable. Wilson writes with flair and wit about everything from Pliny to pollination; her love of honey in all its sheer sensuousness shines through' * Scotsman *
'Can hardly be bettered . . .Principally a writer on food, Wilson none the less knows a lot about keeping honeybees, and also about their biology and natural history, waxworks and candles, and the changing shape of the beehive' * The Guardian *
'Beautifully written and absorbing' * New Statesman *



Book Information
ISBN 9780719565984
Author Bee Wilson
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint John Murray Publishers Ltd
Publisher John Murray Press
Weight(grams) 224g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 131mm * 20mm