Why a Booktrail?
1946: To give them hope she must tell their story
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
What you need to know before your trail
It’s 1946. The war is over, and Juliet Ashton has writer’s block. But when she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey – a total stranger living halfway across the Channel, who has come across her name written in a second hand book – she enters into a correspondence with him, and in time with all the members of the extraordinary Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
Through their letters, the society tell Juliet about life on the island, their love of books – and the long shadow cast by their time living under German occupation. Drawn into their irresistible world, Juliet sets sail for the island, changing her life forever.
Travel Guide
Guernsey
In June 1940, as the Third Reich advanced through France, the people of Guernsey were afraid that their island would be targeted. The British Government had decided that the islands of Jersey, Guernsey and the other channel islands didn’t have a strategic importance so they would not be defended.
Understandably, that created even more panic on the island and people didn’t know whether to remain or flee. The authorities on each island seemed to have their own opinion on the matter.
In the end however, four fifths of the children and just under half of Guernsey’s population managed to evacuate and head to England.
The Germans launched an attack on St Peter Port on the 28th June 1940. When they realised the island was undefended, the Germans accepted Guernsey’s surrender. The Islanders offered no resistance but also no collaboration.
Hitler soon issued orders to convert the Channel Islands into an impregnable fortress. By 1944 Guernsey’s coastline was covered in concrete fortifications ( many of which can still be seen today)
War changed many things – such as a shift to Central European time.
Trail Gallery
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
This really is a remarkable book and I can also now say a remarkable film too! Guernsey really is a beautiful place that shamefully I have not managed to get to yet, but I want to go more after having seen the film and read the book again.
It’s a clever story in that I hadn’t thought about Guernsey and the occupation together before – so much is made of the occupation elsewhere but on this small island, everything is highlighted and the atmosphere especially claustrophobic. It’s full of vibrant and often poignant detail about the daily reality of life during war time, survival, rations and above all hope and the love of books.I really liked the way the book is written as aseries of letters and this felt very realistic and authentic. The film manages to encapsulate this well and it’s a an effective way of getting inside the characters’ minds which is what this story is all about.
It’s a charming novel packed with nostalgia and hope. The letters reveal what it’s like to live through war, uncertainty and more yet still allow the beams of friendship to shine . There’s a lot to love about this novel and film and if this doesn’t make you want to visit Guernsey I don’t know what will.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Destination : Guernsey Author/Guide: Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer Departure Time: 1940s
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