The Keeper of the Bees

Gene (Geneva) Stratton-Porter and this book, The Keeper of the Bees, are both sadly overlooked. The Keeper of the Bees is a classic. It’s a beautiful story, wonderfully written, and filled with characters so real, you think you might meet one of them yourself any day now.Gene Stratton-Porter was brought up in the forests of Indiana – when Indiana had forests – before the trees were cut down for timber – and she was a lover of nature. The natural world plays such importance that is a char [...]

This is an incredibly beautiful book. The lead character, Jamie, is one of the noblest specimens of manhood that I have ever encountered in all literature. This novel is full of timeless truths and virtue fighting for existence in a world increasingly going towards the enticements of vice. As John Steinbeck once said "virtue is venerable as nothing else in this world is." (from East of Eden).Having read and loved the Gene Stratton-Porter books that I could get my hands on since my early teen yea [...]

Captivating, charming, sweet, humorous, heart warming; that is only the tip of what this story was about. I am so, so glad I read it!

I read this years ago on a recommendation from my mom and enjoyed it. This time through I'm in a completely different place in life and appreciate so much more the simple messages in the book.This is the story of Jamie MacFarlane, a young Scotsman, who has served in World War I and received a shrapnel wound in his chest, a wound that will not heal. After a year of unsuccessful treatment in the hospital, the doctors decide to send him to a TB camp even though he doesn't "yet" have tuberculosis. I [...]

This is an older book, 1929 approximately, and in ways it shows--sentimental, religious, delivered with an intrusive third-person narrator--but I love it for all it is. It's a smart book full of insights on our (humans) relationship to nature and the self, community and the individual. It's cool.

Argh.Positives: the story was interesting enough (barely) that I kept a-going to the end of the book. Maybe I need to get rid of that S on the end of Positives.Negatives: This story was so moralistic and preachy I almost couldn't handle it. Now I like me a good moral tale, but I want the morality to come out in the characters and the events, not in lectures from the characters and narrator page after page. Sigh! I just hardly could even handle the hammering of the moral over and over, even thoug [...]

I love the old, eloquent writing. I love the depth and consistency and integrity of the characters. I love the romance. I love the beauty and the truth in it. It was my kind of book :).

When I was reading Gene Stratton-Porter's THE KEEPER OF THE BEES, one of our teens was in the midst of disheartening rebellion; it was a terribly stressful time for many reasons. During the time I was reading this book, we saw a swarm of bees make a nest in our backyard. A dear beekeeper, a man of eighty-one years, came to our home and let me help him move those bees into a hive. The skill and kindness of the beekeeper took me back to those days when my dad let me help him build things and make [...]

Long-winded, old-fashioned, preachy nonsense. Gee, maybe that's too harsh. Once you strip away all the descriptions of flowers (Gene Stratton-Porter was totally into nature), meal plans (which are a hoot), and God stuff, you're left with a sweet little story about a wounded WWI veteran finding hope again.This was recommended to me by a lady who thought it was the best book she'd ever read. Honestly, I'd take the Bible over this any day--more sex, violence, gore, plot, fewer flowers, better food, [...]

This book is extraordinary. It uplifts the human soul with all that is true, pure and good in this world. It was wonderful to read a story with so much Divine Viewpoint. It reminds us that we are fragile and easily corruptible without the Lord; and for the main character, Jamie, depending on the Lord was the greatest lesson he ever learned.

Absolutely beautiful. My most favorite GSP. Exciting, romantic and totally adorable.

Love!! I'm not going to say how many hours I spent over the weekend trying to finish. If my boys grow up to be men like Jamie, I will be so proud. I can't recommend it highly enough!

What a beautiful story! Oh if only I could raise my sons to be like Jamie!

This book was truly beautiful and called me to think on beautiful things-love, nobility, loyalty, nature, friendship, and sacrifice. At the heart of it was the drumbeat of God as creator. What a simply lovely story. I walk away from it with a new respect for bees, brilliant images of blue flowers, a burning desire to smell sand verbena, a longing for greater simplicity in my days, and an appreciation for the many varied gifts God has given. I feel refreshed.

I read Gene Stratton-Porter books when I was a child and now collect them. I can't even give a good review on them because I have so many books to read that I have not taken the time to get her books out again. I know that I loved them because they were nature/romance stories, but so sweet that they are nothing like Harlequin romance, not even close. I keep telling myself that they will soon be on my list, but since I just joined yet another book club that meets here in my town, making that two [...]

What a beautifully written book! It sparked all of these feelings in me as it called me to think on what is lovely, good, and true. I've yet to google sand verbena; but I totally am going to and, I might even sketch a picture of it once I see it. Starting on another of her books as soon as I finish this review.

This was my first Gene Stratton-Porter book. At first it kind of took my off guard. It wasn't what I was expected. It is one of the best books! I love the parallel drawn between the main characters ailing body and his ailing soul. When he begans to heal his body and soul he does it through simple faith and gratitude. I like that his relationship is with nothing flowery, just simple and sincere. I wish more books could portray love of God with such peace and gentleness.

My favorite Stratton-Porter book so far. I loved the characters in this book, but also enjoyed the setting since I am a garden lover. Great story!

Be prepared to fall in love with Jamie and want him for a next door neighbor is all I have to say.

Another fabulous book by Gene Stratton-Porter. The phrases used in this book make me smile.

I thought this book was very well written. Jamie is the main character. He is a wounded WW1 veteran. He was unsuccessfully treated at a veterans hospital. One day he spontaneously decides to leave the hospital and embark on a great adventure. He culminates his journey at the Bee Masters home. There lies in for him many unexpected twists and turns. This book is beautifully written in an old fashioned way. It was written in 1929. The story is beautifully crafted and has an element of the author's [...]

A. unique story about a severely injured WWI vet, and first generation American, who returns home an orphan & consequently left at the mercy of an unscrupulous government. Disabled in mind, soul, and body he remembers the God of his youth & calls out for help. Thus begins a journey, an odyssey, that weaves through the lives of a widow, a widower, a unique child, and a patriot. Laced with time-tested truisms and brilliant depictions of a Pacific west garden this book is a gentle, captivat [...]

She was my Grandpa's favorite author. He owned all of her books. When he died we each got one of her books and this was mine. I found it the other day in a box of treasures and realized I had never read it. What a shame. She reminds me of an early Jan Karon. Great little story, but also written acknowledging our maker and the need to be kind, have goals and work for our dreams. I intend to seek out the many others she wrote and hopefully make a trip to Indiana to visit her home.

I tried to give this book a fair chance. I struggled over two months picking it up and setting it back down, waiting for it to speak to me. I had read it described as life changing, but this book simply didn't do it for me. While the descriptions were rich and the characters well developed, it simply dragged on and on as far as the plot- after 200+ pages I'm still not hooked and had to admit that I would rather spend my limited book time reading something else.

An old fashioned book about Jamie, a WWI veteran who cannot recover from war wounds. The story is sweet, uplifting, and gives a look at a different time in our worldme of it better and some of it worse. In the story the characters have challenges to overcome and struggle to do what they think is good even when it's hard.

This is a tad bit moralistic and definitely a product of its time But I'm willing to excuse it because it's such a good story. Secret Garden-esque but with some distinct social commentary that some people will chafe at but is ripe for discussion.

Such a sweet book. It was written 92 years ago, so some of the social moires of the day seem antiquated. However the character development, the plot, and the story's trajectory are still fresh and uplifting. I loved it.

This is a treasure, rich in language, characters, environment. I would liken it to the California version of The Secret Garden. What a beautiful book.

More of a 3.5. Enjoyable, sweet story about a WWI veteran wanting to die then discovering life. Like some other novels I've read of this era, it's a little preachy.

One of the best stories I have read.