Mary Ann Shaffer was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia. She now lives in San Francisco with her husband and two daughters. This is her first novel.
Annie Barrows is Mary Ann Shaffer's neice. A former editor, she is the author of the very successful Ivy and Bean series of children's books.
It's 1946. Juliet Ashton, a 32-year-old writer, has found a certain recognition through her light-hearted column for the Spectator which lifted the spirits of her readers during WW2, but she can't think what to write next. But then Dawsey Adams writes to her from Guernsey - by chance he's acquired a book Juliet once owned - and, emboldened by their mutual love of books, they begin a correspondence. Dawsey belongs to the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and as Juliet investigates the strange-named reading group, soon she stumbles upon a whole number of islanders eager to write and tell her of their experiences of the German occupation of Guernsey. Entranced by her new friends, Juliet decides to visit the island to meet them properly...
A moving tale of friendship, tolerance and forgiveness in the wake of a period of unthinkable hardship and horror, this is set to become a classic.
'Charming ... one to lift even the most cynical of spirits'
'Thronging with lovable people ... golden comedy'
'What a gorgeous book - very touching and funny'
'Delightfully spirited and quirky novel-of-letters ... You'd have to be pretty hard-hearted not to fall under its spell'
A charming novel set on Guernsey in World War II
