The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by

Ann Shaffer

Markham V. Reynolds Character Analysis

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 that Juliet's Izzy Bickerstaff columns were the only pieces written by women that made him laugh during the war, which is why he's interested in pursuing her. Though Juliet says that Mark is everything a woman should want—he's wealthy, single, powerful, and bossy without being outright mean to servers—she also never feels fully comfortable with him. To her credit, Mark doesn't take Juliet's work seriously and he often bullies her into going out with him. He also believes that Juliet is in love with Sidney, which makes him even more difficult to deal with. When Juliet refuses Mark's proposal of marriage, Mark takes it very badly: he berates Juliet for saying no, calls her an idiot, and only stops when she starts to cry. He attempts to stop her from going to Guernsey and shows up unannounced to try to take her back to London so they can get married. Juliet refuses when Mark suggests that Juliet can't take care of Kit forever and says she's wasting his time by staying on Guernsey. After this, Juliet turns him down for good. She recognizes afterwards that while Mark is, by many metrics, a catch, being married to him would've turned her into a woman who was afraid to think for herself. Sidney also believes that if they'd gotten married, Juliet would've never written another book thanks to Mark's disinterest in Juliet's career.

Markham V. Reynolds Quotes in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society quotes below are all either spoken by Markham V. Reynolds or refer to Markham V. Reynolds. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Literature and Connection Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Feb 5, 1946 Quotes

The simple truth of it is that you're the only female writer who makes me laugh. Your Izzy Bickerstaff columns were the wittiest work to come out of the war, and I want to meet the woman who wrote them.

Related Characters: Markham V. Reynolds (speaker), Juliet Ashton
Related Symbols: Izzy Bickerstaff
Page Number: 34
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: 1 May, 1946 Quotes

But then I imagined a lifetime of having to cry to get him to be kind, and I went back to no again. We argued and he lectured and I wept a bit more because I was so exhausted, and eventually he called his chauffer to take me home. As he shut me into the back seat, he leaned in to kiss me and said, "You're an idiot, Juliet."

And maybe he's right.

Related Characters: Juliet Ashton (speaker), Markham V. Reynolds, Sophie Strachan
Page Number: 133
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: 24 May, 1946 Quotes

Maybe I am a complete idiot. I know of three women who are mad for him—he'll be snapped up in a trice, and I'll spend my declining years in a grimy bed-sit, with my teeth falling out one by one.

Related Characters: Juliet Ashton (speaker), Markham V. Reynolds, Sophie Strachan
Page Number: 163
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: 6 Jul, 1946 Quotes

If she marries him, she'll spend the rest of her life being shown to people at theaters and clubs and weekends and she'll never write another book. As her editor, I'm dismayed by the prospect, but as her friend, I'm horrified. It will be the end of our Juliet.

Related Characters: Sidney Stark (speaker), Juliet Ashton, Markham V. Reynolds, Sophie Strachan
Page Number: 194-95
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: 24 Jul, 1946 Quotes

How could I ever have considered marrying him? One year as his wife, and I'd have become one of those abject, quaking women who look at their husbands when someone asks them a question. I've always despised that type, but I see how it happens now.

Related Characters: Juliet Ashton (speaker), Markham V. Reynolds, Sophie Strachan
Page Number: 214
Explanation and Analysis:
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Markham V. Reynolds Quotes in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society quotes below are all either spoken by Markham V. Reynolds or refer to Markham V. Reynolds. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Literature and Connection Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Feb 5, 1946 Quotes

The simple truth of it is that you're the only female writer who makes me laugh. Your Izzy Bickerstaff columns were the wittiest work to come out of the war, and I want to meet the woman who wrote them.

Related Characters: Markham V. Reynolds (speaker), Juliet Ashton
Related Symbols: Izzy Bickerstaff
Page Number: 34
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: 1 May, 1946 Quotes

But then I imagined a lifetime of having to cry to get him to be kind, and I went back to no again. We argued and he lectured and I wept a bit more because I was so exhausted, and eventually he called his chauffer to take me home. As he shut me into the back seat, he leaned in to kiss me and said, "You're an idiot, Juliet."

And maybe he's right.

Related Characters: Juliet Ashton (speaker), Markham V. Reynolds, Sophie Strachan
Page Number: 133
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: 24 May, 1946 Quotes

Maybe I am a complete idiot. I know of three women who are mad for him—he'll be snapped up in a trice, and I'll spend my declining years in a grimy bed-sit, with my teeth falling out one by one.

Related Characters: Juliet Ashton (speaker), Markham V. Reynolds, Sophie Strachan
Page Number: 163
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: 6 Jul, 1946 Quotes

If she marries him, she'll spend the rest of her life being shown to people at theaters and clubs and weekends and she'll never write another book. As her editor, I'm dismayed by the prospect, but as her friend, I'm horrified. It will be the end of our Juliet.

Related Characters: Sidney Stark (speaker), Juliet Ashton, Markham V. Reynolds, Sophie Strachan
Page Number: 194-95
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 2: 24 Jul, 1946 Quotes

How could I ever have considered marrying him? One year as his wife, and I'd have become one of those abject, quaking women who look at their husbands when someone asks them a question. I've always despised that type, but I see how it happens now.

Related Characters: Juliet Ashton (speaker), Markham V. Reynolds, Sophie Strachan
Page Number: 214
Explanation and Analysis: