The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Author	Mary Ann Shaffer Annie Barrows
Cover artist	Christian Raoul Skrein von Bumbala
Country	United States
Language	English
Subject	German occupation of the English Channel Islands
Genre	historical fiction
Publisher	Dial Press
Publication date	2008
Pages	274
ISBN	978-0-385-34099-1
OCLC	191089812

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a historical novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows that was published in 2008.^[1][2]

Background

US author Shaffer planned to write the biography of Kathleen Scott, wife of the English polar explorer Robert Falcon Scott. While researching the subject, she traveled to Cambridge, England, but was discouraged to find that the subject's personal papers were nearly unusable. While dealing with this frustration, she decided to spend some of her planned stay in England by visiting Guernsey in the Channel Islands. However, as soon as she arrived, the airport was shut down due to heavy fog. She spent her visit in the airport's bookstore, reading several histories of the German occupation of those islands during World War II.^[3]

It was twenty years before Shaffer began a novel dealing with Guernsey. She had abandoned her plan to write the Scott biography, and said "All I wanted was to write a book that someone would like enough to publish."^[4]

After the manuscript had been accepted for publication (2006), the book's editor requested some changes that required substantial rewriting, but around that time Shaffer's health had deteriorated dramatically (she died on 16 February 2008). She asked the daughter of her sister Cynthia, Annie Barrows, who by that time was a well-established author of children's literature, to finish the editing and rewriting. Barrows did so, and thereby became a listed co-author on the work.

Notable characters

Characters of importance include:

• Juliet Ashton, author and protagonist
• Dawsey Adams, her first Guernsey correspondent and close friend
• Sidney Stark, Juliet's London-based publisher and friend
• Sophie Strachan, Sidney's sister and Juliet's best friend
• Amelia Maugery, Guernsey resident, hostess of the dinner party that started the society
• Eben Ramsey, Guernsey resident, important member of the Society
• Will Thisbee, Guernsey resident, creator of the first potato peel pie
• Isola Pribby, Guernsey resident, quirky society member and vegetable and herb vendor
• Elizabeth McKenna, London-born young lady who was caught on Guernsey at the war's outset. She is the quick-witted founder of the society
• Remy Giraud, a Frenchwoman, friend of Elizabeth in a German concentration camp
• Kit McKenna, Elizabeth's adorable, ferret-loving daughter

Themes

Many important themes are referenced throughout the story (the magic of reading, self-discovery, meeting the Other). Some of the most valuable include those of loyalty, courage, and standing strong in the face of danger. Elizabeth is an extreme example of all of those three.

Reception

According to WorldCat, there are over 2200 library holdings of this title.^[5]

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was reviewed by the Washington Post^[6] and The Times.^[7] It reached the number one position on the New York Times Best Seller List for paperback trade fiction on August 2, 2009; it had been on the list for 11 weeks.^[8]

Film adaptation

On August 28, 2008, it was announced that Paula Mazur, who produced the film Nim's Island, and Florida bookstore owner Mitchell Kaplan had acquired the film rights to the novel.^[9] On August 4, 2011, it was reported that Kenneth Branagh would direct the project with Fox 2000 handling the production and Don Roos writing the script.^[10]

Production was due to begin in the spring of 2012 for five weeks. On February 14, 2012, it was announced that the production plans to film in Guernsey had been delayed by casting issues. At the time, Mazur thought the production could then start between the end of May and the beginning of September.^[11] However, it was eventually postponed until 2013.^[12]

Locations

In July 2010, Jason Moriarty, director of marketing and tourism, explained that the production taking place in Guernsey would rely on the economics and logistics of the film. He picked out the fact that the island, being small, doesn't have the capacity necessary to welcome a Hollywood production.^[13] Mazur stated that other possible filming locations included the southern part of England.^[14] In January 2012 Branagh visited the island to identify some filming locations.^[15] Mazur had planned to begin filming in early 2012, but on 20 January she announced that most filming would take place in London, with only a few scenes being shot in Guernsey.^[16]

Casting

Kate Winslet, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt were cited as potential candidates for the final casting.^[13] On January 13, 2012, it was revealed Kate Winslet had joined the film.^[17] She would have portrayed Juliet Ashton but it was later revealed that she was not involved with the production anymore.^[18] In October 2016 it was announced that the starring role will be played by British actress Lily James who played Lady Rose in Downton Abbey.

References

External links

• Authors' Bio