The multimillion-copybestselling first novel by the author of The Invention of Wings, coming from Viking in January 2014The Secret Life of Bees was a New York Times bestseller for more than two and a half years, a Good Morning America Read This Book Club pick and was made into an award-winning film starring Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, and Alicia Keys. A coming of age tale set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees will appeal to fans ofKathryn Stocketts The Helpand Beth Hoffmans Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, and tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed.When Lilys fierce-hearted black stand-in mother, Rosaleen, insults three of the towns most vicious racists, Lily decides they should both escape to Tiburon, South Carolinaa town that holds the secret to her mothers 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 lovea story that women will continue to share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.