The Secret Life of Bees

The Historical Fiction Book

* A novel by American author Sue Monk Kidd. 

* Set in the American South in 1964, the year of the Civil Rights Act and intensifying racial unrest.

* The coming-of-age story addresses the difficulty of loss and betrayal. 

* It received critical acclaim and was a New York Times bestseller. It was nominated for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction and was adapted into a film directed by Gina Prince- Bythewood.

Essential Questions

  • Do the attributes of a hero remain the same over time?
  • What is the role of a hero or “sheroe” (coined by Maya Angelou) in a culture?
  • How does Sue Monk Kidd, the author, use historical context to help define the characters and the personal issues they have to deal with?
  • How can citizens, including ourselves, break through barriers of prejudice to promote tolerance?
  • If the need for love is our most basic emotional need, then what could be more despairing than to feel, unloved and why?
  • What are the elements of the Bildungsroman (coming-of-age stories), and how does this novel reflect those elements?

Dream Speech Clip