Review
At first glance, readers may wonder how entertaining a book
consisting entirely of fictional correspondence could be - a
format that has been employed with mixed results by others.
Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, however, are able to use
this style to great advantage in their novel,
The
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The
result is a charming tale imbued with history, romance and
humor.
Comparisons between
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel
Pie Society and the works of Jane Austen are inevitable.
Elizabeth Bennett pops into the reader's mind early in the
book, as the writings of the main character, Juliet Ashton,
display the same sort of sharp, irreverent wit as the
heroine of
Pride and Prejudice. As with Austen's
works, the main...
Beyond the Book
A Short History of the Channel Islands, including Guernsey
The Channel Islands are a group of islands
approximately 30 miles off the coast of Normandy, France (map).
They are organized into two bailiwicks: The Bailiwick of
Guernsey (made of up of the islands of Guernsey,
Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou and Lihou), and the
Bailiwick of Jersey (containing the island of Jersey and a
few smaller, uninhabited islets).
Despite being closer to the French coast than they are to
Britain, the islands are a self-governing possession of the
British Crown. This state of events came about because the
islands were annexed to the Duchy of Normandy in 933 and
thus became part of the...
