Bees and Their Keepers

Lotte Möller, tr Frank Perry

MacLehose Press 2020

Hb, 224pp, £20, ISBN 9781529405262

One look at the deep, rich, WinniethePoohcoloured cover, the illustration of bees and hives and the gently archaic font... this is the kind of cover that could seduce any shelfbrowsing reader.

Originally written in Swedish, Bees and Their Keepers is both a personal perspective from one who “bees just happened to” and the history and folklore of bees and beekeeping from the Cretaceous period right up to the development of robot bees.

Part One progresses through a calendar year, each chapter representing a new month with a new theme allowing the reader to participate in the ebb and flow of both the bees’ and keepers’ routines. Part Two is less personal and more informationfocused with lists of honey stockists, bee museums and longer discussions over bee care. Throughout the book, the text is punctuated with beautiful illustrations, paintings and photographs further bringing to life the complicated and intimate relationship between humans and bees.

There is no doubting Lotte Möller’s love for her subject.

If I have one criticism it would be that the book is so full of fascinating information that sometimes I barely had time to digest what I’d read before the next snippet arrived. But there’s a feeling of being invited into some sort of secret club witnessing beekeepers discuss the taste of honey. We hear how the Bee Welcome project encourages Swedish beekeepers to train newly arrived refugees in the art of beekeeping, read tales of naughty bears licking hives, and learn about UFOinformed pollen collectors. There is so much to enjoy in this book, that maybe it’s okay to let it roll over you as you read it.

Möller has a strong voice, charming, funny and authoritative; so even if bees and honey really aren’t your thing, it’s still a pleasure to be in her company.

Liza Frank

★★★★