The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Club
Mary Ann Shaffer has dealt with books all her life; she's worked as a librarian, an editor, and kept her own bookstore. But she had a cherished dream - to write a book that people would want to publish. And her dream came true. True, Mary Ann herself never saw her book published. She died in February 2008, but she already knew that her novel will be published not only in English, but also in other languages, as European publishers are seriously interested in the book. Mary Ann's niece, children's author Annie Barrows, edited and brought the novel to mind.
Mary Ann got to the island of Guernsey by accident, she was returning from America to London, but the English coast was drowned in thick fog, and the plane made a forced landing on Guernsey. While waiting to land, Mary Ann read everything she could find at the tiny airport kiosk. And mostly it sold books about Guernsey, an island she knew next to nothing about. Just as she did not know that part of the British territory was under German occupation throughout the war.
Many years later, when friends at the book club, once again began to encourage her to finally take up the book, Mary Ann remembered about Guernsey, so the novel was born.
In just a year, "Book Lovers Club and potato peel pies" became one of the most famous books about the war, the novel has been translated into two dozen languages, and thanks to its name has become a table book of many book clubs. The book, sweet, tender and good old-fashioned, became an international bestseller, although its authors did not try to indulge the public at all. It is a very rare case when really good literature also becomes very popular.
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books by the author