In Search of Goliathus Hercules

By Jennifer Angus

This is the fantastic story of Henri Bell, a near-orphan who in 1890 is sent to live with his ancient great-aunt and her extensive button collection. One rainy afternoon, Henri strikes up a conversation with a friendly fly on the windowsill and discovers he possesses the astounding ability to speak with insects. Thus commences an epic journey for Henri as he manages a flea circus, commands an army of beetles, and ultimately sets out to British Malaya to find the mythical giant insect known as Goliathus hercules. Along the way he makes friends both insect and human, and undergoes a strange transformation of his own. Artist Jennifer Angus, known for her Victorian-inspired exhibits of insect specimens, brings her distinctive sensibility to the pages of her first novel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Albert Whitman Company
• Release date: Apr 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781480419872

Jennifer Angus

Jennifer Angus is a professor in the Design Studios department at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. She has been the recipient of numerous awards for her art, including Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council, and Wisconsin Arts Board grants. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin. This is her first novel.

Reviews for In Search of Goliathus Hercules

[jenn.s · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An adorable story with lovable characters. While it has a bit of a slow start it sets the stage for the main character, Henri. There were a few oddities and plot slips that left questions in my mind but I doubt the age group it's aimed for would be as pedantic. It's done well enough to please the young mind and for a first attempt it's actually quite good.

[dairyqueen84 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Henri Bell is ten years old in 1890 when he is sent from Britain to America to live with his great aunt Georgie. Even though he loves his aunt there is only so much conversation they can make about her vast button collection and the scary next-door-neighbor, Mrs. Agatha Black, gives Henri the heebie-jeebies. His father has gone missing in British Malaya and his mother has gone to look for him. He discovers a housefly reading the newspaper in his room and realizes he can speak to the fly. Dom, short for Musca domestica, points out an article about a new man-eating insect, Goliathus Hercules, found near where his father has gone missing and this plants a seed in Henri to go in search of the bug and his father. The circus is in town and for unclear reasons, Henri feels threatened by Agatha Black and joins them to escape her, getting a job helping Maestro Antonio with the sideshow flea circus. Henri also makes friends with two other kids in the circus, Robin and Billy and when he decides to leave to search for his father and Goliathus hercules, all his friends go with him. When they leave they realize they are being pursued by Madame Noir, the circus fortune teller, whom Henri had seen torturing and eating insects. Mysteries abound to keep readers interested and the ending may be no surprise to some readers.",,,1,,,0,,,,,15843281,That Time I Joined the Circus,J.J. Howard,Howard