<P> Set in the fictitious town of Sylvan , South Carolina , in 1964 , The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of a 14 - year - old white girl , Lily Melissa Owens , whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed . She lives in a house with her abusive father , whom she refers to as T. Ray . They have a no - nonsense maid , Rosaleen , who acts as a surrogate mother for Lily . The book opens with Lily 's discovery of bees in her bedroom . Then , after Rosaleen is arrested for pouring her bottle of `` snuff juice '' on three white men , Lily breaks her out of the hospital and they decide to leave town . They begin hitch - hiking toward Tiburon , SC , a place written on the back of an image of the Virgin Mary as a black woman , which Deborah , her mother , had owned . They spend a night in the woods with little food and little hope before reaching Tiburon . There , they buy lunch at a general store , and Lily recognizes a picture of the same `` Black Mary '' but on the side of a jar of honey . They receive directions to the origin of that honey , the Boatwright residence . They are introduced to the Boatwright sisters , the makers of the honey : August , May , and June , who are all black . Lily makes up a story about being an orphan . Lily and Rosaleen are invited to stay with the sisters . </P>
<P> Set in the fictitious town of Sylvan , South Carolina , in 1964 , The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of a 14 - year - old white girl , Lily Melissa Owens , whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed . She lives in a house with her abusive father , whom she refers to as T. Ray . They have a no - nonsense maid , Rosaleen , who acts as a surrogate mother for Lily . The book opens with Lily 's discovery of bees in her bedroom . Then , after Rosaleen is arrested for pouring her bottle of `` snuff juice '' on three white men , Lily breaks her out of the hospital and they decide to leave town . They begin hitch - hiking toward Tiburon , SC , a place written on the back of an image of the Virgin Mary as a black woman , which Deborah , her mother , had owned . They spend a night in the woods with little food and little hope before reaching Tiburon . There , they buy lunch at a general store , and Lily recognizes a picture of the same `` Black Mary '' but on the side of a jar of honey . They receive directions to the origin of that honey , the Boatwright residence . They are introduced to the Boatwright sisters , the makers of the honey : August , May , and June , who are all black . Lily makes up a story about being an orphan . Lily and Rosaleen are invited to stay with the sisters . </P>
where does secret life of bees take place
where does secret life of bees take place
the fictitious town of Sylvan , South Carolina
the fictitious town of Sylvan , South Carolina