The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A Novel

Mary Ann Shaffer · Annie Barrows

Jul 2008 · Dial Press

About this ebook

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A NETFLIX FILM • A remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

“Treat yourself to this book, please—I can’t recommend it highly enough.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb. . . .

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

Praise for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

“A jewel . . . Poignant and keenly observed, Guernsey is a small masterpiece about love, war, and the immeasurable sustenance to be found in good books and good friends.”—People

“A book-lover’s delight, an implicit and sometimes explicit paean to all things literary.”—Chicago Sun-Times

“A sparkling epistolary novel radiating wit, lightly worn erudition and written with great assurance and aplomb.”—The Sunday Times (London)

“Cooked perfectly à point: subtle and elegant in flavour, yet emotionally satisfying to the finish.”—The Times (London)

Ratings and reviews

June 3rd. 2012 Period 3 Book Review: the Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Pie Society The Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows is a novel that is told through the exchange of multiple letters during German occupation. The main character is Juliet Ashton, whose recently lost her apartment to the Blitzkrieg air raids, suddenly broken off her engagement to the only man she ever thought she could love and is struggling to come up with a story for her next book. Soon after receiving letters from Dawsey Adams Juliet becomes enchanted by the stories of Guernsey and the many members of the Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Pie Society- a society that came up on the spot when a group of friends was caught by Germans after curfew. The Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Pie Society began growing and got together to discuss books, using them to get through the hideous German occupation on Guernsey. Juliet’s awe for the society grows and she soon finds herself in Guernsey in a midst of its relationships, culture, and on a journey of discovery for herself; Juliet is swept on a journey that will change her life. Written by Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows, the novel embraces a tale of hope and encouragement through horrors and terrifying moments of war in the home front. It emphasizes that a good book can inspire those in heartache and help push through the hard times. The novel has a very real side with historical evidence that truly circles around the reality and brutality of war. This book is deeply based off Guernsey a British war occupant in the midst of WWII. Guernsey is an English island shortly off France that became subjugated to German occupation. A concentration camp was built, all the children where kicked off the island for safety, curfews were implanted, rations of food where set up, rations of soap and clothes were established and the island in itself was a very real part of WWII. Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows do an excellent job describing how the Guernsey Literacy Society influences hope and love through books and stories that push through the hardships of war. Often during struggling times Dawsey found himself reading, reading to inspire him and help him through the cold times. The literacy society “read books, talked books, argued over books, and became dearer and dearer to one another… [they] could almost forget now and then the darkness outside” shows how the bond between the group formed and helped inspire the members through the war (Shaffer and Barrows, 51). Juliet realizes many great authors and books, books that are dear to her, have inspired the people of Guernsey to keep on living. The books on Guernsey have inspired arguments some of which over poetry and how “Passive suffering is [or is not] a theme for poetry” because it is too close to the current situation or War- in the end all Literacy arguments brought the members closer and brought shreds of hope to the dark times (Shaffer and Barrows, 73). The hope, love and care inspired the inhabitants on Guernsey and while many things like food, clothes soap and candles where taken, the Germans could not take away one thing, for them members “clung to [their] books and [their] friends” keeping the hope and love between them alive (Shaffer and Barrows, 64). Shaffer and Barrows use an assortment of styles to emphasize their argument- that books inspire hope in hard times, and love can be found no matter what. The Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Pie Society is divided up and written in two parts. The first part is a tale of letters of hope and war brutality between Juliet and the members- Dawsey, Amelia, Isola, John, Eben and many more. The second part through an exchange of letters tells the tale of Juliet’s time in Guernsey and the love she finds hidden there. The author gives humor to each letter and character to its writer. The Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Pie Society’s authors truly write from the heart and use an assortment of

About the author

Mary Ann Shaffer, who passed away in February 2008, worked as an editor, librarian, and in bookshops. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was her first novel.

Her niece, Annie Barrows, is the author of the children’s series Ivy and Bean, as well as The Magic Half. She lives in northern California.