Customer Reviews

The Keeper of the Bees (Library of Indiana Classics)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a teenager, I balked at my mother's suggestion of reading the old book which was falling apart at the seams. Much to my surprise, I actually enjoyed "The Keeper of the Bees" and I'm looking forward to reading other books by Gene Stratton-Porter. This story is of an injured soldier who runs away from the best hospitals the military could offer and escapes to the beach to die. Much to his surprise, rather than relying on others constantly, he finds himself helping others throughout his journey. This experience helps improve his health both mentally and physically. This is an excellent book for readers of all ages and a must for the home library collection.

My first reading of Keeper of the Bees was on my grandmother's back porch in the early 60's. When I asked for the book a few years later, she had donated it to her local library. As a parent, I began searching for Gene Stratton Porter books as I traveled, because I wanted to share them with my daughters. Some were easy to find, others were quite difficult. Keeper of the Bees was the most difficult, and it was several years before I found a copy--a first edition. It was like being on my grandparent's sleeping porch all over again. I read it and then read it to my family on a long road trip. Mrs. Porter didn't write a sequel because she was killed the same year this book was released. It was in a car accident in California, where she had moved because she was involved in producing several movies of her stories. Unfortuntely, those early movies seem to have disappeared. There's a recent G. S. P. autobiography, and a PBS special on her life. I've collected all of her fiction, but her naturalist books are beyond my pocketbook... selling for $400 and up. This is an author worth pursing.

Reading "Keeper of the Bees" is a very sensual experience. When the action takes place in the Bee Master's garden I was tempted to actually pick some of the blue flowers. There were times when I was certain that I was smelling the salt air as I heard the Pacific's Ocean's waves crash on the sandy beach. And when the scene shifted to the apiary, it took a concerted effort not to recoil as the swarms worked their magic, and of course I craved the delicious honey fresh out of the hive.

The wholesome adventure involves a slowly recovering World War I veteran who runs away from the hospital to die in the tranquility of the California's coastal countenance, but instead finds redemption by coming to the aid of an assortment of fleshed-out characters.

While the book is a beneficial read, I had a few structural complaints. At times Mrs. Stratten-Porter's style seemed haphazard and in isolated incidents, I was delayed by choppy sentence structure. The departure of the Brunsons--minor characters relevant only to the early chapters--seemed disturbingly abrupt, and the presence of the androgynous Little Scout will no doubt be deliberately misinterpreted today in ways that the author never intended 75 years ago. Winnowing 50-100 of its 500+ pages seemed like a feasible option that could have dulcified the work.

Tragically, Mrs. Stratten-Porter did not live to see this book's publication. (Perhaps her untimely death prevented the final proofread which may have assuaged the mechanical drawbacks I referenced.) It was a posthumous swan song that capped her palmy career. Based on this beneficent tale, I am very interested in exploring some of her earlier efforts.

This novel, written by the author of A Girl of the Limberlost and Freckles, begins at the end of WW I (The Great War). Jamie MacFarlane, an American of Scottish descent, is languishing in a California hospital, the wound in his chest not getting any better. He is far from God, alone in the world, and sure he will soon die. He overhears that he is to be sent to a different hospital, one rife with tuberculosis. Instead of submitting to certain death, Jamie walks away from the military hospital and embarks on a "Great Adventure."

From his first interactions with people (and because the author repeatedly tells us), we can see Jamie is a man of fine moral character--trustworthy, honest, wholesome, and helpful. Eventually, his Great Adventure brings him to the point of death, or so he thinks. Then he stumbles upon a lovely little house by the ocean. A man appears at the gate and calls for help. Jamie, forgetting his own near-exhaustion and certain death, rushes to the aid of the elderly man and telephones for help. The man, The Bee Master, asks Jamie to live in his house and manage it and care for his bees and plants until he is able to return. (Because, he could see immediately that Jamie was an honest, wholesome, trustworthy fellow.)

The story progresses with the addition of new characters--the Little Scout, a genderless neighborhood child and "partner" of the Bee Master who befriends Jamie and provides all sorts of sage wisdom and childish fun; Margaret, the kindly neighbor who cooks and cleans for Jamie while living through her own struggles; and the Storm Girl, a mysterious woman who unburdens her heart to Jamie and is helped by him.

The story progresses in a satisfying way. Porter spares no expense in her discussion of nature. Bees and their workings, the native flora of California, the scents of the garden, the landscape of the area--all are worked in as an integral part of the story. She also make sure to express her views of the morality of the time and stresses the sorrows of young people and their modern, "oversexed" ways and the wearing of too much makeup while playing up the ideas of patriotism and the American melting pot. The ideas of working hard, prayers and thanksgiving, helping one's fellow man, and forgiveness are all woven in to this tale.

In addition to all the wholesomeness and nature study, the book is also a romance. Who is the mystery girl? Will she and Jamie ever get together? Where is Margaret's daughter? Will Jamie's wound heal? Will the Bee Master return to his home? What are the secrets of his past?

As far as objectionable material, a woman becomes pregnant out of wedlock (but pays heavily for her indiscretion), and Jamie thinks about his Storm Girl (but not in an inappropriate way). Many tomatoes are eaten, although I doubt any would find this objectionable.

All in all, The Keeper of the Bees is a clean, pleasant read which adults and teens alike would enjoy. The plot would be a bit much for a younger reader (elementary), but the material would not be objectionable.

Just a couple of weeks ago my aunt gave a copy of The Keeper of the Bees.(a first edition) It was falling apart at the seems outside, but inside it was the best book that I have ever read in my life! The morals that are stated, ever so quietly, are wonderful. I wish authors wrote like Mrs. Porter today. Since then I have read A daughter of the Land and I am starting Her Father's Keeper.( all first editions) I personally love her books. Unlike others I do not wish that she had written a sequel. I feel that it would have taken away the individuality of the Keeper of the Bees. This is a book that should be treasured for all time.

I, too, read The Keeper of the Bees as a teenager. The vivid images and reliable wisdom of this book are useful to me even now, forty years later! This is a classic, and I am delighted to see it still in circulation and well-read. The beekeeping principles that are woven into the story are authentic, as I found out a year or two after reading the book. The medical principles of healing are still being explored, but the vital role of the patient's frame of mind have been demonstrated to be important. There's a lot of truth to be learned from Ms. Stratton-Porter, and I recommend The Keeper to readers of any age, and particularly to young men.

The mixed reviews about this book are a good indication that you get from this book what you bring to it. There are many points where readers today may find the plot devices dated (as noted in the next review). But the characters, especially the main character and little Scout, are well written.
In all, I think that this book (more so than other Stratton-Porter books) should be read as a historical fiction. That is, it gives the reader a good story AND a sense of a changing American society after World War I. I think critical readers with an appreciation of early 20th century literature will enjoy the book.

I am the third generation in my family who fell in love with Gene Stratton-Porter!This book is about a world war 1 soldier who escapes from a rehabilitation camp in California. He finds himself helping a sick old man care for his bees. This book was so good that I felt like I was standing there, watching everything unfold. I think that you should read this book.

Keeper of the Bees is the Uintah County Library's October book club selection. At first I thought the events seemed very improbable and I still did at the end, but it was such a splendid yarn with enough mystery and uplift of the spirit, that I really enjoyed it. My favorite character is the little Scout. What a remarkable child. It was easy to identify with Jamie, because we all have our weaknesses, but are trying to find our way to finding whatever it is that will provide us with a sweet smile at death. I think I will read more by this author.

When I moved to the Hoosier state, I discovered that the local library carries many of Gene Stratton-Porter's books. I have read several so far, and 'Keeper of the Bees' is by far my favorite.

Set not in Mrs. Porter's beloved Indiana swamps and woods, but on the Pacific coast, this is a wholesome tale of the physical and spiritual redemption of Jamie MacFarlane, a soldier injured in World War 1. His character is crafted with real affection; Mrs. Porter is equally adept at writing male characters and female, and by the third chapter you want Jamie to live. Plus, there is just enough suspense that you can't put it down (unless you skip ahead and read the ending, like I did.)