Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 290 pages
Audiobook Length: 8 hours and 6 minutes
First Published: 2007
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Publisher’s Description
“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.
Quotes from The GUernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books.
Men are more interesting in books than they are in real life.
I don’t want to be married just to be married. I can’t think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can’t talk to, or worse, someone I can’t be silent with.
That’s what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you to another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It’s geometrically progressive – all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.
Movie Trailer for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
About Mary Ann Shaffer
Mary Ann Shaffer was an editor, librarian, and the author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. She died in 2008 at the age of 73.
About Annie Barrows
Annie Barrows is a former editor and the author of the children’s series Ivy + Bean. She is also the co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society with her aunt, Mary Ann Shaffer. She currently lives in Northern California. Visit the author’s website →
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