The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by

Ann Shaffer

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Characters

Juliet Ashton

Juliet is the 33-year-old protagonist of the novel. She's a writer living in London and is attempting to come up with a new idea for a book after deciding she no longer wants to write… read analysis of Juliet Ashton

Dawsey Adams

Dawsey is a jack-of-all-trades on Guernsey and a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Prior to his membership in the Society, however, Dawsey was extremely shy, quiet, and had a… read analysis of Dawsey Adams

Elizabeth McKenna

Elizabeth was a witty, loyal, and quick-thinking young woman who, though not a Guernsey local, had a long history on the island. Her mother was in Lord Ambrose's service, and Lord Ambrose treated Elizabeth like… read analysis of Elizabeth McKenna

Sidney Stark

Sidney is Juliet's editor at the Stephens & Stark publishing house and her longtime personal friend. He's witty, self-important, and often does his best to behave like an obnoxious older brother. This is because Sidney… read analysis of Sidney Stark

John Booker

John Booker isn't a native of Guernsey; he arrived on the island right before the start of the war as a servant to Lord Tobias. Lord Tobias wanted to wait out the war on… read analysis of John Booker
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Isola Pribby

Isola grows herbs and makes elixirs on Guernsey, where she lives with her goat and her parrot. She's one of the first Society members to write to Juliet. Isola describes herself as tall and… read analysis of Isola Pribby

Remy Giraud

Remy is a young Frenchwoman whom Elizabeth met at the Ravensbrück concentration camp. At the age of 22, Remy was imprisoned for stealing ration cards. She and Elizabeth soon became friends and Remy clung to… read analysis of Remy Giraud

Mrs. Amelia Maugery

Amelia Maugery is one of only a few highly educated people on Guernsey. She houses the library for the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. In her sixties, Amelia is described as being extremely… read analysis of Mrs. Amelia Maugery

Markham V. Reynolds

Mark is an extremely wealthy American in the publishing business. He begins courting Juliet while she's on her book tour and leaves her flowers at every stop. When the two finally begin communicating, Mark admits… read analysis of Markham V. Reynolds

Kit McKenna

Kit McKenna is the four-year-old daughter of Elizabeth and Christian. She was born during the war and never met her father; he'd already died by the time she was born. Elizabeth was arrested when… read analysis of Kit McKenna

Sophie Strachan

Sophie Strachan (née Stark) is Juliet's close friend and confidante, and Sidney's younger sister. She lives in Scotland with her husband, Alexander, and her three-year-old son, Dominic. Juliet and Sophie met… read analysis of Sophie Strachan

Miss Adelaide Addison

Adelaide is a Guernsey islander who takes it upon herself to police the morals and righteousness of everyone on the island. She writes Juliet to tell her that Kit is an illegitimate child fathered by… read analysis of Miss Adelaide Addison

Susan Scott

Susan Scott is an employee at Stephens & Stark. Though her title is never stated, she accompanies Juliet on her book tour and appears to work closely with Sidney. Juliet refers to Susan as… read analysis of Susan Scott

Eben Ramsey

Eben is an elderly farmer on Guernsey. His daughter, Jane, was the same age as Elizabeth, so Eben has a long history with Elizabeth. In the present Eben cares for Jane's son Eliread analysis of Eben Ramsey

Clovis Fossey

Clovis Fossey is a farmer on Guernsey and one of the original members of the Literary Society. He was at first uninterested in poetry or literature, but decided to give poetry a try when he… read analysis of Clovis Fossey

Will Thisbee

Will is an ironmonger, inventor, and the member of the Literary Society responsible for inventing potato peel pie and adding it to the name. He's also a hobby baker, though most other members wish he'd… read analysis of Will Thisbee

Captain Christian Hellman

Christian Hellman was a German soldier stationed on Guernsey. He fell in love with Elizabeth and is Kit's father. Most of the Society members found that Christian was very kind, loved literature, and didn't believe… read analysis of Captain Christian Hellman

Lieutenant Rob Dartry

Juliet's first fiancé. They were going to get married in 1942 but while Rob was moving his things into Juliet's apartment, she realized she didn't want to marry him: he tried to box up… read analysis of Lieutenant Rob Dartry

Eli

Eli is Eben's grandson. He's twelve years old and loves carving animals out of wood. His mother, Jane, died right after Eli evacuated Guernsey, and his father died fighting in North Africa. Because… read analysis of Eli

Reverend Simon Simpless

Juliet's childhood reverend, who provides Amelia Maugery with a character reference for Juliet. Reverend Simpless appears to have a way with children; he took Juliet seriously when, as a child, she insisted the congregation… read analysis of Reverend Simon Simpless

Billee Bee Jones

Sidney's second secretary of the novel. She's a slightly older woman who at first appears to be kind and maternal. She sends Kit paper dolls and is very sweet and accommodating in her correspondence… read analysis of Billee Bee Jones

Dr. Roderick Ashton

Juliet's great-uncle and her guardian after her parents died. Reverend Simpless describes him as an uninspired and boring man, which he believes is why Dr. Ashton was unable to keep Juliet from running away—he couldn't… read analysis of Dr. Roderick Ashton

Sir Ambrose Ivers

Sir Ambrose cared for Elizabeth when she was a child; the novel never mentions her father. He was a portrait painter of some repute and owned a large house on Guernsey. He brought Elizabeth and… read analysis of Sir Ambrose Ivers

Gilly Gilbert

Gilly Gilbert is a journalist for The London Hue and Cry, a disreputable gossip paper. He first attempts to humiliate Juliet by accusing her of abandoning Lieutenant Rob Dartry at the altar, but she… read analysis of Gilly Gilbert

Henry Toussant

A man who, after Juliet arrives on Guernsey, writes her a letter about tormenting German soldiers with his whistling. He also writes about the German brothels and the women who worked there. Toussant believes the… read analysis of Henry Toussant

Lady Bella Taunton

Bella was a fire warden with Juliet during the Blitz. Juliet asks Bella to write a character reference for her for Amelia Maugery. Through Bella's letter, it's clear that she's a stickler for rules… read analysis of Lady Bella Taunton

Granny Pheen

Isola's grandmother; Pheen is short for Josephine. As a young girl, Pheen's father drowned her cat. A man stopped to comfort Pheen, explained that he could commune with cats' spirits, and over the course… read analysis of Granny Pheen

Thompson Stubbins

A Literary Society member and a former psychiatrist and member of the Freud Society in London. Stubbins was kicked out of the Freud Society after he suggested that Freud invented the ego to play to… read analysis of Thompson Stubbins

Mrs. Clara Saussey

A woman who attempted to join the Literary Society, but decided against it after the other members were rude to her for reading out of her own cookbook. She insists to Juliet that her recipes… read analysis of Mrs. Clara Saussey

Charlie Stephens

Sidney's partner at their publishing house, Stephens & Stark. Susan implies that Sidney does most of the actual work of publishing; Charlie is better suited to writing checks and letting other people do the… read analysis of Charlie Stephens

Sally Ann Frobisher

A young woman who writes to Juliet about her experience of the war. In 1943, when she was twelve, she had scabies on her scalp and was treated at the hospital by Elizabeth. Sally… read analysis of Sally Ann Frobisher

Peter Sawyer

Peter was arrested with Elizabeth. He found Lud Jaruzki in his garden, took the boy in, and Elizabeth provided care. Peter is in a wheelchair, which became his saving grace: the Nazis imprisoned him… read analysis of Peter Sawyer

Sam Withers

The elderly groundskeeper at the Guernsey cemetery. He knew Christian and Elizabeth and liked them both. He tells Juliet that there were plenty of nice Germans who snuck food for children or gave out medicine… read analysis of Sam Withers

The Benoit Sisters

A set of twins in their eighties who live on Guernsey. They conduct a ritual in which they invite young women to their home for tea and then invite their guests to throw darts at… read analysis of The Benoit Sisters

Miss Tilley

Sidney's first named secretary. She's very proper, though this often crosses the line into outright rudeness. She also takes Sidney's confidentiality seriously; she's initially unwilling to tell Juliet where Sidney is when he goes… read analysis of Miss Tilley

Piers Langley

A friend of Juliet, Sophie, and Sidney. He disappeared in Burma in 1943 and a month before the novel begins, he mysteriously reappears in Australia. The news is that he's turned to… read analysis of Piers Langley

Mr. Dilwyn

Mr. Dilwyn works in banking and law, and manages the estate of Sir Ambrose after his death. He heads up the search for Elizabeth and acts as Kit's legal guardian, though he never actually… read analysis of Mr. Dilwyn

Lud Jaruzki

A sixteen-year-old Polish boy and a Todt laborer. When he attempted to steal from Peter Sawyer's garden, he collapsed from malnourishment. Peter and Elizabeth cared for him for a few days. After the Germans… read analysis of Lud Jaruzki
Minor Characters
Lord Tobias Penn-Piers
Lord Tobias was John Booker's employer; Booker was his valet. He initially came to Guernsey to escape the war, but decided to leave immediately when the Germans bombed the island. From Booker's descriptions, Lord Tobias cared much more for his possessions than for his wife.
Jane
Eben Ramsey's daughter and Eli's mother; she died with her newborn when the Germans bombed Guernsey. She and Elizabeth were childhood friends and Eben says that Jane was one of the main reasons why Elizabeth decided to stay on the island and not evacuate.
Jonas Skeeter
An unwilling member of the Literary Society who presents at Juliet's first Society meeting. He read The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius and thinks very poorly of the book, Marcus Aurelius himself, and his friend who made him read the book by insulting him.
The Commandant
The German commander on Guernsey during the occupation. Though he's presumably the one in charge of the ever-changing and often cruel rules, he also expresses a love of literature.
Micah Daniels
A man who writes Juliet to tell her about the Vega boxes of food and supplies from the Red Cross. He also tells her the story of seeing a German soldier kill and cook a cat.
An Animal Lover
A man who writes anonymously to Juliet about how the United States euthanized islanders' pets in the weeks before the German invasion. He thinks more highly of animals than he does of people, so he found this especially horrendous.
Lisa Jenkins
The Guernsey woman responsible for revealing John Booker's true identity to the German authorities. She dated German soldiers in exchange for food and gifts.
Sergeant Willy Gurtz
A German soldier who dated Lisa Jenkins. He passed the photo of the real Lord Tobias onto the Commandant, thereby condemning John Booker to a concentration camp in mainland Europe.
Sister Cecile Touvier
A nurse who cares for Remy in Louviers. She transcribes Remy's letter to the Society telling them of Elizabeth's death, though she desperately wants Remy to forget about her experience in Ravensbrück and heal.
Eddie Meares
A big and mean man on Guernsey. During the war, he habitually told on his neighbors to earn favors from the Germans. He told on Elizabeth and Peter and for that, Dawsey beat him in the pub one night.
Alexander Strachan
Sophie's husband and Dominic's father. He and Sophie live in Scotland.
Dominic Strachan
Sophie and Alexander's three-year-old son. Juliet is his godmother.
Nancy/Widow Hubert
A woman on Guernsey whom Clovis Fossey woos using poetry.
Mrs. Dilwyn
Mr. Dilwyn's wife. She's a somewhat vain lady and was very upset when Guernsey ran out of soap.
Ian
Amelia's son; he died in the war. As a boy, he was friendly with Elizabeth and Jane.
Augustus Sarre
A Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society member. He presents on Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and finds them extremely distasteful.
Daphne Post
A Guernsey woman who spends her nights digging for a silver teapot she hid during the occupation.